Remember when Subaru brought the STI Type RA over to the U.S., and buyers collectively wondered “Hey, are you really charging $50,000 for a car with five more horsepower than the standard model?” This happened because American enthusiast buyers are by and large spec-sheet shoppers, who will endlessly compare and nitpick spreadsheet figures before going and buying the cheapest turbocharged 90s car on Facebook Marketplace. It’s not our fault we’re broke.
Luckily, there’s an RA for us, and maybe it’ll give us all the chance to appreciate STI tuning properly. It’s not about the power — Type RA cars get unique gearing, added ventilation, and weight reduction over the base model. They’re cars that don’t make much sense until you drive them, and for under $20,000, you might actually be able to climb behind the wheel of this one.
