Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/01/07/best-collector-cars-to-buy-now-2019-bull-market-list
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A whole generation of drivers learned the letters STI through video games. Before then, the vehicles produced by Subaru Tecnica International, the company?s racing division, were obscure Japanese home-market homologation specials built to support Subaru?s efforts in international rallying. By the early 2000s, however, buyers in North America, familiar with cars like the WRX STI from Gran Turismo and other games, were demanding to be let in on the fun. The first U.S.-legal WRX turbo appeared for the 2002 model year, followed shortly by an even heavier-breathing STI version, and Nipon nerds delighted in the brief turbo-tech war that ensued between Subaru?s all-wheel-drive hot rod and the similarly exotic Mitsubishi Evo.
The STI had big wheels, a big wing, big suspension upgrades, and a big engine. The 2.5-liter flat-four munched on 14.5 psi of boost to make 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque in a car weighing 3300 pounds. It?s worth noting that, 15 years later, the 2019 model makes 310 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque, and the base STI now weighs about 200 more pounds. In other words, unlike many long-running models, that first STI was in some ways the best.
Owner Rich Schaars bought a new WRX in 2002 and in late 2003 tried to trade it in for an STI, but the dealers wanted huge markups. He waited them out over the winter, and by the spring of 2004, dealers were ready to sell at list. More than 100,000 miles and a full engine rebuild later, Schaars?s STI is otherwise remarkably well preserved, accelerating and steering as fiercely as it did when new while evoking Subaru racing glory with its gold wheels and British American Tobacco blue paint.
The years have passed, Mitsubishi has faded, and Subaru no longer wants to talk about its rallying days, somehow believing that creates a hooligan cloud over a brand that is trying to move upscale to become a sort of discounted Audi. You couldn?t even get blue paint over gold wheels on an STI for a while, and now only the limited-edition $50,000 WRX STI Type RA offers the combo. So, although you can buy a new STI, you can really no longer buy a car as weirdly special as that first one.
2004 SUBARU WRX STIEngine flat-four, 2457 cc
Power 300 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque 300 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Weight 3300 lb
Power-to-weight 11.0 lb/hp
0?60 4.9 sec
Top speed 155 mph
Price when new $32,000
Hagerty value $25,700?$33,700
THE HAGERTY VALUATION TEAM SAYS:
The real-life versions of the cars we played in Need for Speed were too expensive for the kids who wanted them. But as those kids became adults and made money, the cars got older and cheaper. Good examples are hard to find today, but they are that much more valuable.
A whole generation of drivers learned the letters STI through video games. Before then, the vehicles produced by Subaru Tecnica International, the company?s racing division, were obscure Japanese home-market homologation specials built to support Subaru?s efforts in international rallying. By the early 2000s, however, buyers in North America, familiar with cars like the WRX STI from Gran Turismo and other games, were demanding to be let in on the fun. The first U.S.-legal WRX turbo appeared for the 2002 model year, followed shortly by an even heavier-breathing STI version, and Nipon nerds delighted in the brief turbo-tech war that ensued between Subaru?s all-wheel-drive hot rod and the similarly exotic Mitsubishi Evo.
The STI had big wheels, a big wing, big suspension upgrades, and a big engine. The 2.5-liter flat-four munched on 14.5 psi of boost to make 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque in a car weighing 3300 pounds. It?s worth noting that, 15 years later, the 2019 model makes 310 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque, and the base STI now weighs about 200 more pounds. In other words, unlike many long-running models, that first STI was in some ways the best.
Owner Rich Schaars bought a new WRX in 2002 and in late 2003 tried to trade it in for an STI, but the dealers wanted huge markups. He waited them out over the winter, and by the spring of 2004, dealers were ready to sell at list. More than 100,000 miles and a full engine rebuild later, Schaars?s STI is otherwise remarkably well preserved, accelerating and steering as fiercely as it did when new while evoking Subaru racing glory with its gold wheels and British American Tobacco blue paint.
The years have passed, Mitsubishi has faded, and Subaru no longer wants to talk about its rallying days, somehow believing that creates a hooligan cloud over a brand that is trying to move upscale to become a sort of discounted Audi. You couldn?t even get blue paint over gold wheels on an STI for a while, and now only the limited-edition $50,000 WRX STI Type RA offers the combo. So, although you can buy a new STI, you can really no longer buy a car as weirdly special as that first one.
2004 SUBARU WRX STIEngine flat-four, 2457 cc
Power 300 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque 300 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
Weight 3300 lb
Power-to-weight 11.0 lb/hp
0?60 4.9 sec
Top speed 155 mph
Price when new $32,000
Hagerty value $25,700?$33,700
THE HAGERTY VALUATION TEAM SAYS:
The real-life versions of the cars we played in Need for Speed were too expensive for the kids who wanted them. But as those kids became adults and made money, the cars got older and cheaper. Good examples are hard to find today, but they are that much more valuable.
