2025 Subaru WRX tS at Lightning Lap 2025

From the March/April 2025 issue of Car and Driver.
Class: LL2 | Base: $46,875 | As Tested: $47,270 Power and Weight: 271 hp • 3428 lb • 12.6 lb/hp Tires: Bridgestone Potenza S007; 245/35R-19 93Y
On a track, we want a car that's consistent, responding predictably to steering, braking, and throttle inputs lap after lap. No alarms and no surprises, please. Even pros want that in their race cars. Along with speed, of course. We're happy to report the Subaru WRX tS brought more consistency to VIR than the standard WRX we flogged here two years ago, as well as a little more speed.
The big enabler is the tS's new Brembo brake setup—six-piston fronts, two-piston rears, and larger rotors—courtesy of the TR-spec WRX. The tS also inherits the TR's Recaro sport seats, along with its wheels and 245/35R-19 Bridgestone Potenza S007 summer tires, up from 18-inch Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT 600As of the same width. Adaptive dampers from the WRX GT complete the package.
Around VIR's many turns, the tS understeered so massively that we thought the front rubber had melted away. The upside to this front-biased cornering balance is that it made the tS feel virtually spinproof.
In the competition against the standard WRX, the tS emerged victorious by 1.2 seconds. It clipped chunks of time out of Sectors 1 and 4, two places that emphasize cornering grip and agility. That improvement was a possible byproduct of the new adaptive dampers and tires. The tS gained a combined 1.5 seconds in those sectors, though it gave back several tenths in the track's final corner.
But it's the tS's new brakes that made lapping VIR less stressful. Two years ago, we wished the standard WRX had better stoppers. Wish granted. The new setup proved indefatigable, never showing a hint of fade. That gave us the confidence to nail them hard in the braking zones and trail them past the turn-in point.
Taken together, the changes to the tS confirmed that it's a real track-day machine now. It's quick enough to entertain experts, stable enough for newbies to learn on, able to lap continuously until the tank runs dry, and unshakably consistent—something track drivers of all stripes will appreciate. We sure did.
Back to Lightning Lap 2025
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