What Subaru announced
According to Nikkei, Subaru confirmed on October 22, 2026, that it will revive the manual transmission (MT) as a mass-market, catalog option for the WRX sport sedan sold in Japan. Nikkei reported the carmaker had kept the production line for the TY85 six-speed manual gearbox intact, allowing it to restart manufacturing with existing equipment rather than tooling a new line.
Japanese outlet Kuruma News reported the launch is planned for November 2026 and said it would mark the first manual-transmission catalog model for the domestic WRX lineup in about seven years. The TY85 unit being reused was previously fitted to older WRX STI models, Kuruma News noted, distinguishing it from the TY75 gearbox used in a recent limited edition.
Why the manual disappeared in the first place
Sites covering the move, including transcarweb.com, note that the manual version of the previous-generation WRX STI ended production in December 2019. Nikkei attributed the original discontinuation and the current reversal to the same underlying factor: Japanese and other fuel-economy and CO2 regulations. Nikkei reported that Subaru's expanded lineup of EVs and hybrids has since improved the company's overall compliance with those standards, creating room to reoffer a less fuel-efficient manual sports model without jeopardizing fleet-wide targets.
Nikkei also quoted Subaru's rationale in brief, paraphrasing company language that said customer requests for a manual revival had been strong.
How Subaru tested the demand
Before committing to a full catalog return, Subaru first tested appetite for a manual WRX with a strictly limited model. Carscoops reported that Subaru opened applications from April 9 to May 17, 2026, for the WRX STI Sport#, a lottery-allocated, 600-unit limited edition in Japan priced at ¥6,105,000 (about $38,400, per Carscoops' conversion). Kuruma News and transcarweb.com both reported that this limited run drew roughly 9,000 applications for only 600 units — about 15 times the available supply.
Carscoops described the STI Sport# as using a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer engine rated at 271 hp (275 PS) and 350 Nm of torque, paired with a six-speed manual and Subaru's Symmetrical all-wheel drive, plus Brembo brakes, ZF-tuned electronic dampers and Recaro seats. Kuruma News cited the same engine output as 275 horsepower, reflecting a difference in how the two outlets stated the hp/PS figures.
Two more manual models planned by 2027
The WRX is not the only model involved. Carscoops reported in June 2026 that Subaru had teased three manual-transmission vehicles due by 2027, developed by a newly created Sports Vehicle Planning Office. Alongside the WRX with the TY85 gearbox, Subaru listed a five-door hatchback described as an affordable base car and a BRZ coupe based on the STI Sport TYPE RA limited edition. Transcarweb.com similarly listed a BRZ "Complete Car" and a hatchback based on a Performance-B STI concept among the planned manual additions.
Subaru's recent manual-transmission WRX models in Japan| Model | Status | Transmission | Output | Price/Availability |
|---|
| Previous WRX STI (MT) | Ended December 2019 | 6-speed MT | Not reported in sources | Discontinued |
|---|
| WRX STI Sport# (limited edition) | 600 units, lottery, Apr–May 2026 applications | 6-speed MT (TY75) | 271 hp / 275 PS (per Carscoops/Kuruma News) | ¥6,105,000 (~$38,400) |
|---|
| New catalog WRX (MT) | Planned launch November 2026 | 6-speed MT (TY85) | Not yet detailed in sources | Regular catalog option |
|---|
What is not yet known
Sources reviewed for this piece did not report final pricing, full specifications, or exact order dates for the November catalog version of the manual WRX, nor an official on-sale date for the planned BRZ and hatchback manual variants beyond the general 2027 target cited by Carscoops and transcarweb.com.
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