Subaru has pulled the wraps off the WRX S4—the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) version of the WRX. The “S4” stands for four key attributes of the vehicle: “Sports Performance”, “Safety Performance”, “Smart Driving”, and “Sophisticated Feel”.

To achieve these, the WRX S4 packs Subaru’s core technologies but enhanced to deliver a sportier yet sophisticated level of performance. Under the hood, the WRX S4 uses the 2.0-liter direct-injection turbocharged Boxer engine (FA20DIT), but tuned to produce 300 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque. Though most are shocked by these power figures, they aren’t new. They echo the power figures produced by the Levorg 2.0 Turbo. This effectively means the WRX S4 is a sedan version of the Levorg. Aside from this engine, the WRX S4 comes equipped only with a single transmission: the Sport Lineartronic CVT (the Philippines should consider ourselves lucky since we have a choice between the M/T and the CVT despite the size of our market). The Sport Lineartronic also has the switchable modes afforded by the SI-DRIVE.

Other changes between the WRX S4 and the global WRX model include larger diameter (but narrower width) tires: 225/45R18 (235/45R17 for global markets), an electronic parking brake on the S4, and finally, EyeSight—Subaru’s advanced collision mitigation safety feature.

The Subaru WRX S4 is now on sale in Japan.