Subaru plans to send off the EJ20 engine with a special edition WRX STI to be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Subaru fans might be a little sad to hear that production of the 2.0-L turbocharged boxer 4-cylinder engine is set to end in March of 2020. Orders for the engine will cease at the end of 2019, and then Subaru will retire the legendary engine for all time.
Which shouldn't be too surprising. The EJ20 has been in production with Subaru since 1989, and although it has seen refinements that have since pushed it above and beyond its initial implementation in the Subaru Legacy, it's long since past its prime. According to rumors to come out of Japan, the WRX STI's EJ20 engine will be replaced by the FA20 engine found in the current Impreza.
We should be clear that the North American WRX STI uses the EJ257 engine since 2007. So far, rumors don't address what will happen to the EJ257, but we do know what is happening to the EJ20.
But before the EJ20 goes, Subaru is giving it one last sendoff. They call it the "WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition," and it will commemorate the car and the engine with a "balanced" EJ20 motor and gold-painted BBS 19-inch alloy wheels.
There are likely to be many other upgrades, but Subaru didn't provide all the details in their press release. More will be revealed with the Final Edition takes a bow at the Tokyo Motor Show starting October 25th.
Also noted in Subaru's press release is that the EJ257 will continue to be used for the WRX STI outside of North America and that "production of those engines will continue." So it appears that the North American WRX STI won't get the FA20 after all and continue the Subaru tradition of keeping the foreign STI different from the domestic model.
Subaru also announced that the Tokyo Motor Show will showcase the VIZIV Adrenaline Concept, which reveals what Subaru plans for their next-gen crossovers and SUVs.