US media wonder if the wildest WRX ever built is a test bed for the next STI’s engine.

MORE than just a great video – perhaps also an ultimate pre-release test for the engine set for the next Subaru WRX STi.

So goes speculation in respect to the powerplant in the STI Travis Pastrana’s drives to the limit – and occasionally almost beyond – in the latest of the wild Hoonigan videos, Gymkhana 2020, released today.

Concurrent with the film’s release, Subaru of America has released information about the American driving talent’s brand-provisioned car and the engine under the bonnet – an all-new 2.3-litre boxer four-cylinder making 642kW, the work of Subaru Motorsports USA and technical partner Vermont SportsCar.

As astounding as the output is – and no WRX has had more - it’s the engine’s capacity that has raised even more interest. 

 Subaru does not have a 2.3-litre turbocharged boxer engine in any of its cars; however it’s speculated that the next-gen STI, due out in 2022, will have a version of the new 2.4-litre that runs in the US market Ascent SUV and will debut here next year in the new Outback.

US website TorqueNews says reports “from many sources” say the next-generation Subaru STI will be powered by an Ascent-sourced engine, but with plenty of Subaru Tecnica International upgraded internals to produce close to 390kW.

It speculates “Subaru would use the 2.4-litre turbocharged engine in the 2022 WRX and possibly the all-new 2.3-litre … in the STI. This new engine would give separation to the two performance models, like the current generation.” 

Adds the website: “The Gymkhana STI is the perfect car to test the new powerplant’s reliability and performance capabilities. It gives Subaru plenty of time to tweak the engine before the launch of the next-generation model.”

As you can see from the film, Pastrana gives his new ride a total workout in stunt sequences with planes, boats, action sports athletes, and significant landmarks in the driver’s home town of Annapolis, the historic capital of the US state of Maryland. 

The high-flying gap jump over a racing speedboat that kicks the action off is over Annapolis’ famous Ego Alley waterway.

Subaru says they started with a production Subaru WRX STI shell. The car was fully caged and lightened to just 113kg. That’s around 360kg lighter than a standard STI as sold in the US.