What's in a name? Pedigree, reputation, past achievements, something important that gives a name value. So when you consider the gap in cost between a WRX to a WRX STI to a WRX STI Type RA, those names printed on fancy badges need to make sense. A name can't stand on fluff alone, so I decided to give these three tenants of Subaru performance a hard look to see if these cars put their money where the mile marker is or if it's just a case of "The Badge Tax".
We'll start at the very beginning. The very best place to start. The figures being used are all based around 2018 MSRP without any extra destination fees, accessories, or Honda Civic Type R dealer markup. Even if we were to add all those things, it's likely that the price gap between each of our three turbocharged sedans would stay the same.
2018 Subaru WRX: $26,995 USD
2018 Subaru WRX STI: $36,095 USD
2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA: $48,995 USD
Straight away, there's some very noticable gaps in price for a car that basically looks the same across all three lines with different things attached to the trunk serving as the only obvious aesthetic differentiation points. The jump from a WRX to the WRX STI will tack an additional $9,100 to the price tag while step from the STI to the Type RA sits at $12,900. Another step back from those staggering figures shows that a base model WRX is $22,000 less than the top tier Type RA. That's enough difference to allow the WRX owner to purchase another car! Surely, there's got to be some sense to these gaps.
To start us off, the base model WRX comes equipped with a 2.0 liter Turbocharged Boxer 4 developing 268 horsepower. It's mated to a 6-Speed Transmission and a Continuous All-Wheel Drive System. Cloth upholstery, 17 inch wheels, and some basic infotainment round out the rest of the equipment. At the WRX's core, all we're really changing from here are interior creature features, engine and drivetrain components, exterior flair, and badges. Again, if you strip each of these three cars we're comparing down to the unibody frame, you'll find they're all the same car.
Our first price jump goes from the WRX to the WRX STI. Those extra three letters change quite a bit inside and out. The interior gets Leather and Alcantara trimmed upholstery, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, windshield wiper de-icers, and nicer infotainment. Outside things improve with LED Low/High beam steering-responsive headlights, 6-Piston Brembo brakes with drilled rotors, 19 inch wheels, STI tuned suspension, and a big "please pull me over, Officer" spoiler. To ensure the Officer has something to pull you over, the STI gets a 2.5 liter Turbocharged Boxer 4 developing 305 horsepower. It's mated to a 6-Speed close-ratio transmission and a fancier All-Wheel Drive System along with a Driver Controlled Center Differential and a "SI Drive" that allows you to select between 3 different drive maps. To get a WRX to perform like this and to have those fancy creature comforts, you'd have to do a hefty bit of upgrades.
You could argue that it would take less than $9,100 to upgrade a base model WRX to perform like a STI, but there's still all the "value added" creature comforts that add around $2,500 to that alone. So even if we figure about $5,500 for the performance upgrades, there's $1,100 unaccounted for. There's our "Badge Tax". I was expecting that.
Now we're onto the bigger gap. From the WRX STI to the WRX STI Type RA, there's $12,900 to make up. All of your creature comforts remain the same on the inside, although the front seats upgrade to "Recaros", a Push-Button Start with a fancy Key Fob, and a Ultrasuede-wrapped steering wheel adds a sporting touch. Minus that steering wheel upholstery, the other two options would run you $2,500 more on a base STI, so we'll factor that in at the end. The 2.5 liter Boxer 4 Engine now makes 310 Horsepower (5 more) with reinforced pistons, a high-flow air intake system, a high-flow exhaust system, and retuned ECU. Add 19-inch lightweight forged BBS gold alloy wheels and High performance Bilstein® STI Sport Tuned suspension to the mix and it's a sharper car than before. There's also a revised 3rd gear ratio for better mid-range acceleration, an adjustable STI Carbon Fiber rear wing, a STI Front bumper under spoiler, air outlets in the rear bumper, and the whole roof is Carbon Fiber for reduced weight.
Outside of the Carbon Fiber bits, the rest feel like tweaks to the existing STI parts instead of entirely different components (like you get between the WRX and the STI). The improvements to performance are the key to making the STI Type RA a special car, but to figure in $10,000 or so (+ those interior bits we figured in) in the price gap goes to a roof, a wing, and some altered STI parts seems like a stretch. I'm not entirely certain how much it would actually cost to upgrade all those things in a stock STI, but I'd hazard a guess that there's a hefty bit of "Badge Tax" worked into that price. I would also hazard a guess that putting $10k into a WRX STI would gain you more than 5 extra horsepower and tighter handling... but that's just a guess.
The Badge Tax is in full swing with each upgrade. With performance comes pedigree that enthusiasts would (and sometimes do) follow off a cliff. Some would rather go basic and build a racecar to their liking from the ground up. If you took a standard WRX and used $22,000 worth of upgrades, you'd likely end up with a machine that far exceeds the production STI and STI Type RA. Heck, you could even just keep the standard WRX and buy a second Impreza with that kind of money! If you'd rather STI do the work for you, it's a matter of HOW much work you'd really like done. While that badge certainly can mean something to people, it'll take a diehard to truly appreciate the details that make up the Type RA. 500 of them to be exact.
At it's core, all three are still a WRX. STI owners can complain about seeing their wings worn on "undeserving WRXs", and Type RAs are certainly going to be a fitting sendoff for the EJ257, so it'll really come down to what the owner wants to get out of the experience. If you want something enough, you'll find a way to justify whatever cost it takes to attain it.
Here's the Baja Blast as it sits on it's new METHOD 502 Rally VT Spec wheels and BF Goodrich KO2 tires! They're 215/75 R15 and only needed minor tweaking to the inner fender well to get 'em to fit right without rubbing. I could've gone with a smaller tire, but after seeing them on the car, I have no regrets. Besides looking mean, these tires are nice and wide thanks to the offset of the Method wheels, which has helped give this Baja some well needed stability in the corners as well as adding to the already aggressive look of the All-Terrain tires.
