Matchbox’s Subaru WRX S4 STI Looks Better Than The Real Thing

Even as I hold it in my hand, part of me can’t believe that this factory-spec Matchbox Subaru WRX actually exists.  Historically, 1/64 scale Subaru WRX’s with clean decos are few and far between.  

Until the release of the near-stock bugeye WRX from the Cars & Donuts set in 2017, I couldn’t find a single WRX (of any generation) without ugly side graphics despite the car’s real life popularity.  It seemed like half my high school’s parking lot was made up of spicy Subies, yet they seemed to entirely escape the JDM hype that defined much of the last decade of diecast collecting.  Even now, the 22B STI is the only other Subaru to receive the proper World Rally Blue paint with gold wheels.  It feels criminal that even the WRX STI hatch casting hasn’t seen a proper, stock deco release (though it has come close a few times). 

Matchbox also has a couple of WRX’s in their history, but sadly both of them were limited to police use.  While the short-lived 2015 WRX STI police car casting is nothing special, Matchbox’s older “hawkeye” WRX casting is one of the best diecast Subarus in existence.  Designed by Matchbox legend Ryu Asada, it’s everything you could want in a diecast Subaru…except the deco.  I’ve been arguing for years that we need this casting to be modified to remove the lightbar so that we can get the proper, factory-spec versions we deserve.  If anyone from Matchbox is reading this: give us the blue and gold hawkeye WRX and I will crown it model of the year. 

All of that history makes it feel like a miracle that Matchbox released this 2024 Subaru WRX S4 STI as a stock version with front and rear detailing and the correct blue paint!  Of course, despite the STI in its name, this Subie is actually just a Japan-exclusive special edition of the regular WRX with no added power or engine displacement.  While that may upset some Subaru purists, it certainly doesn’t matter for this engine-less diecast version.  What does matter is that it looks fantastic!

It’s hardly controversial to say that I don’t like the look of the plastic body cladding on the current generation WRX, given the near universal disdain for that styling decision.  Thanks to the limited detailing budget available on Matchbox mainline models, we get a chance to see how much better the WRX would have looked with body colored fender flares!  It’s a massive improvement, making the car look sleeker and less SUV-like, which means this the rare case where I’m actually grateful for Matchbox’s limited detailing budget. 

They’ve put that limited budget to great use on this model though, with all the front end detailing I could ask for!  The grille features excellent printing fidelity and alignment, with a lovely raised Subaru badge at the center.  That raised badge gives me hope that we will continue to see front end prints on future releases of this casting.  The plastic cladding at the bottom of the bumper is formed using the casting’s base, though I’m not sure why they decided to use this gray color for it.  Every current generation WRX that I’ve seen uses black cladding, and black plastic bases are seemingly the default on Matchbox cars, so the decision to go with gray just seems odd.  Regardless, the bumper’s design looks good, so the base color could be easily changed on a future release. 

The WRX’s trademark hood scoop is here and accounted for, though I can’t help but think it looks a tad small on this model.  Part of me misses Subaru’s boy racer days. 

The rear of this model features every badge you could possibly want, plus a few more for your friends!  There’s another raised Subaru badge, alongside “STI”, “Subaru”, “WRX”, and “S4” badges – gotta make sure everyone knows exactly which trim level they’re looking at.  I have to give Matchbox credit for including one of the most detailed license plates I’ve ever seen on one of their models though.  In typical Matchbox fashion, the plate features a coded message (it decodes to “C U LATER” in case you’re curious).  Sadly, there wasn’t much Matchbox could do about the WRX’s unfortunate rear bumper situation.  Oddly, it looks like Matchbox actually added another little diffuser section at the bottom of the bumper.  I can’t find any pictures of a WRX with this diffuser online, so perhaps they added it to hide the rivet? 

Since the WRX S4 STI is a Japan-only model, it’s no surprise to see a right hand drive interior in this model! 

Despite a couple of minor inaccuracies with the base, I just can’t get over how cool this model is.  Perhaps it’s just because I’m so happy to finally see a stock Subaru WRX in diecast form, but this model just looks so darn cool!  Its lack of black plastic cladding on the wheel arches actually prompted me to look up some pictures of new WRX’s with color matched fenders.  Surprisingly, it makes the real version look far better too!  It’s exceedingly rare that a diecast manufacturer makes a car look better than the real version.  Kudos, Matchbox…even if it may not have been intentional.