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Logically, Subaru's Performance BEV Epoch Virtually Kicks Off With a Solterra STI

Subaru just took a big swing at the automotive world, both literally and figuratively. But its battery-electric Solterra sport utility vehicle leaves much room for interpretation. Including that of the STI variety, it seems.
Subaru Solterra STI rendering by X-Tomi Design 26 photos
Photo: X-Tomi Design / Facebook
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Jointly developed with Toyota, the new EV is Subaru’s first-ever zero-emission vehicle. That’s easy to understand. But apart from that, as well as the logical use of a full-time AWD traction system, everything is open to debate.

Let’s take the name for example. It joins the words “sol” (meaning sun) and “terra” (as in Earth). But it’s also amazingly easy prone to jokes about being “solitaire” - not just the world-famous game, but also the implication of being single, or all alone. Which it isn’t, in reality, because it was co-developed with Toyota.

Then there’s the design. Say what you will about the Solterra, but it’s not without “personality.” Whether the edgy, loaded styling is your cup of tea or not has to do with personal preference. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But those chunky front-fender plastic panels are going to make it hard for OCDs (like me) to accept the left one cuts firmly into the electric charging port door.

Anyway, there’s already a solution for that. And it’s a sporty one, bearing the legendary Subaru Tecnica International Inc. moniker, courtesy of the pixel master behind the X-Tomi Design account on social media. The CGI expert makes the Toyota bZ4X... err, sorry, Subaru Solterra deliver a quick vanishing act.

So, plastic protection is no more, while Subaru DNA is also a lot more pronounced. But there is one problem. This rendering is entirely wishful thinking at this early point in Solterra’s life. We have no idea if Subaru will ever create a fully-fledged STI version of the high-riding BEV. Especially with a “real” radiator grille like the one presented by this virtual artist.

Sure, everyone can dream, and probably Subaru will have to decide eventually whether the STI legends will have a place in the upcoming zero-emission age or firmly belong into the (proud) ICE past.


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Editor's note: Gallery includes official images of 2023 Subaru Solterra.

About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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