The Honda Prelude continues to kick the Subaru BRZ’s butt as the former sold 318 hybrid coupes in May. That outpaced their more traditional rival, which only moved 255 units.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all bad news for sporty Subies as WRX sales soared 147.9% to 1,195 units. The company didn’t bother mentioning the low-volume sedan in their sales release, but the increase is hardly surprising given the fact that they slashed prices and brought back the entry-level variant.

More: WRX Sales Fell Off A Cliff, So Subaru Brings Back The Cheap One

Thanks to the changes, the 2026 WRX begins at $32,495 and that’s $5,255 less than last year’s model. Subaru also lowered the price of the WRX Premium by $3,755, while the WRX Limited was slashed by $3,685. Even the WRX GT and WRX tS got a $2,710 reduction.

Putting the fun stuff aside, overall Subaru sales were up 10.4% last month to 57,748 units. This was largely due to strong demand for the Crosstrek and Forester.

Subaru noted the Crosstrek achieved its best May ever, while hybrid sales hit a new monthly record. The Japanese automaker also posted its best-ever EV monthly sales of 3,094 units.

While the Solterra dropped 39.8%, the decline in sales was more than offset by the new Trailseeker and Uncharted. It’s worth noting the latter EV even outsold the aforementioned WRX.

As for the rest of the lineup, it wasn’t pretty and we’re not talking about the Outback. Sales of the aging Ascent continued their descent, while the Impreza plunged 35.8%. The zombie Legacy found 90 takers, but sales should fade quickly as a quick search suggests less than 100 new units remain in inventory.

Subaru May US Sales

The rumor mill around Subaru’s performance division has been working overtime lately. Fans of Subaru Tecnica International have spent months chasing reports of a returning WRX STI hot hatch, but the company may also be working on a new sports coupe with a proper STI variant attached.

The Trademarks

According to CarSales, Subaru has trademarked the ACX and ACX STI nameplates with IP Australia, a callback to the ACX-II concept car from 1985. The Australian outlet leans toward a gasoline-powered application, pointing to separate “Flat Shift” and “Rev Sync” filings as supporting evidence. However, trademarks lodged elsewhere in the world tell a different story.

More: Subaru Can’t Sell You A Proper WRX STI, But It’ll Race One Against Cars With Nearly Double Its Power

The ACX, VPX, and ZPX names have already been trademarked in the US, Canada, and the UK alongside their respective STI variants. Each of those filings carries a specific description: “Automobiles and structural parts therefore electric cars.” That wording leaves little to the imagination.

Illustrations: Theottle

Of the three new names, only VPX has been paired with a Wilderness designation, which points toward something taller and more utilitarian, whether a truck, a crossover, or an SUV. ACX and ZPX arrive without that context, leaving only earlier rumors and reports to go on. One plausible home for either name is the long-rumored successor to the BRZ.

Independent digital artist Theophilus Chin has imagined that successor as a fully electric sports car, pulling design language from the Performance-E STI Concept into a modernized two-door silhouette that still reads as a BRZ.

What About ICE?

Illustrations Theottle

The ACX paperwork tilts heavily toward a zero-emission powertrain, but the ongoing Subaru-Toyota partnership leaves room for a combustion sports car to exist alongside it.

More: Subaru’s BRZ Finally Has A Turbo And AWD, Just Not In A Version You Can Buy

Subaru recently launched a widebody BRZ-based rally car running a turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive, built to compete in the JRC. Toyota, meanwhile, is testing a still-unidentified WRC contender with a two-door coupe profile, widely believed to be the competition version of the upcoming GR Celica.

Subaru Boxer Rally Spec.Z

The two rally cars share nothing mechanically, but there is still a path for Subaru to field a sibling to the production Toyota GR Celica when that car arrives. Whether Toyota commits to a front-engined or mid-engined layout for the road car is still unresolved.

More: Subaru Says STI Is “Not Dead”, But Its Boxer May Be

Toyota has confirmed a next-generation GR 86 is coming, but the Subaru side of that partnership may diverge, with the next BRZ potentially going fully electric and adopting the elevated stance previewed by the Sport Mobility Concept.