Subaru will bring back a manual transmission to its WRX lineup in Japan for the first time since 2019. The automaker’s Japanese website features a video confirming the upcoming WRX will include the TY85 six-speed manual, a component previously reserved for the WRX STI. The new WRX maintains the fifth-generation sedan body style, with no visible exterior updates in the promotional materials. A video on Subaru’s website confirms Japan’s new WRX will feature the TY85 manual transmission previously used in the WRX STI.
The manual still lived in smaller runs, like the BRZ and limited-edition WRX STI Sport#, but this could be Subaru’s return to mass-market manuals in Japan. While other global markets, including the United States, currently offer manual WRXs, regulation changes in Japan forced the automaker to stop making mass-produced manual vehicles in its home market. Subaru had already confirmed it would launch a WRX with the TY85 transmission this year, and it appears Japan will be first in line to get its hands on the new and improved WRX.
Read Also: Willow Springs Raceway Unveils Upgrades Amid Membership Debate
Subaru’s Japanese division has a new website dedicated to the WRX, and while it only features a cryptic photo, a few lines of text, and a 15-minute-long video, all in Japanese, there’s plenty to dissect about the brand’s outlook on the WRX in Japan. It’s hard to make out much of anything in the website’s teaser photo, but it shows a pretty clear outline of the car’s front end, which looks like the current fifth-generation WRX. The rear is definitely still a sedan.
The TY85 is reportedly more robust and capable of handling more power than the TY75 transmission currently used in the WRX in the U.S. Subaru is reportedly axing some of its WRX models in its home market, but now it looks like the automaker is about to add a new one into the mix. We’ll know more in November, when the WRX news is officially released. ➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.
