Out of every automaker, who would you bank on for saving the manual transmission? If you said Subaru, I don’t believe you. But you’re correct!
Right now, less than 1% of new cars sold in the U.S. come with a manual transmission. As vehicles become more expensive, most Americans aren’t buying a new car for funsies. A second car just to “feel at one” while on a weekend drive is probably not a thing for most families, who just need a convenient commuter. And as more automakers pivot to EVs, even the more expensive vehicles are losing the manual transmission.
Through it all, some automakers have been attempting to keep manual alive. We have the Mazda Miata MX-5, which has been confirmed not to become electric. We have BMW’s M cars. Uh, the Lotus Emira? Yeah, we’re running low here.
However, Subaru confirmed at a press conference at Fuji Speedway that it will have three new cars with manual transmission.
The reveal happened over the weekend of June 6, during round three of Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance series at Fuji Speedway. Subaru didn’t actually pull the covers off anything. It posted a single photo of three cars hiding under camouflage to its official account, said all three should reach production by 2027, and let the internet do the rest. One catch, though: this was a Japan-market announcement, and Subaru hasn’t said which of the three, if any, will reach American driveways.
What are the three Subarus with manual?
During this press conference, Chief Technology Officer Tetsuro Fujinuki commented on Subaru’s future plans. And instead of being all about practicality and range, Fujinuki said Subaru wants customers to enjoy driving.
“We aim to create cars that can be enjoyed more casually,” he said.
This means three manual models, which have not been fully revealed. The first appears to be similar to the WRX, but nobody knows if it’s a WRX STI. The second derives from the BRZ, serving as a follow-up to the 300 STI Sport Type RA special edition vehicles that arrived in Japan in 2025.
There’s a real engineering tell in the WRX. It’s ditching its current TY75 gearbox for the burlier TY85 unit from the last-generation STI, a transmission Subaru had shut the production line on before deciding to fire it back up. Demand is the reason: when Subaru built a limited, manual-equipped WRX STI Sport# for Japan, it capped the run at 600 cars and more than 9,000 people applied to buy one. The BRZ, meanwhile, isn’t chasing more power. Subaru says it just wants to sharpen the naturally aspirated FA24’s response and keep the thing light and tossable. And then there’s the one nobody can stop talking about.
The third? Subaru is describing it as an “affordable base car.” To keep prices down, Subaru is looking into cheaper materials and fewer parts. That would all be fine and dandy with us, as long as it’s a fun hatchback with a manual transmission. I mean, the Elise is practically a metal box inside. Who needs an interior!?
None of this is random. Subaru spun up a new Sports Vehicle Planning Office back in April 2026, built specifically to stop its motorsport engineers and its road-car engineers from working in separate boxes. The idea is that what the brand learns thrashing cars at the Super Taikyu series, in rallying, and at the Nürburgring 24 Hours feeds straight into the cars you can actually buy. Whether that gives us three keepers or three near-misses, it’s a real bet the rest of the industry isn’t making.
With Subaru’s new Sports Vehicle Planning Office, we expect some pretty neat vehicles out of Subaru. All I needed to hear was “cheap” and “manual” to feel a new sense of hope as the vehicles around us get more expensive and emotionless.
