The Reason Why Some Subaru STIs Have Pink Logos

Colors are an important part of car culture, and across the industry, there are some hues which are especially tied to certain automakers. Honda, of course, has its famed Championship White body color used on the Civic Type R and other racing-inspired models. BMW’s legendary M division has its own distinct tri-color logo. Then there’s Ferrari, with its signature Rosso Corsa red known by fans around the world. What about Subaru?

The color that most people will associate with the Japanese automaker is almost certainly World Rally Blue — a hue made famous on Subaru’s legendary, rally-winning race cars over the years, as well as their rally-bred street counterparts. Along with that, seasoned Subaru enthusiasts may know there’s another color that’s long been associated with the brand in a slightly more subtle way — pink.

No, Subaru isn’t known for painting its cars pink, but the color historically has been used in the logo of the company’s STI performance brand, and there’s some interesting history behind that choice. It’s a history tied to the company’s Japanese roots, and specifically, Japan’s famous cherry blossom trees. The STI color itself has also evolved over the years, though some of that pink DNA can still be found today. Let’s take a quick look at the history and evolution behind these color choices.

Like most car companies, Subaru is a brand name with some fascinating history and meaning behind it. For starters, there’s Subaru’s famous six-star logo, which doesn’t just represent Subaru as an automaker, but as a key part of what used to be called Fuji Heavy Industries — the Japanese industrial giant that, among other things, once built World War II-era fighter planes and bombers.

STI, meanwhile, stands for Subaru Tecnica International, which is Subaru’s in-house performance and motorsport subsidiary, similar to BMW’s M or Mercedes’ AMG. STI was established in 1988, and quickly made a name for itself in rally competition before the brand name started being used on Subaru’s high-performance street models a few years later.

In the early days, the STI logo had a distinct pink hue to it. In Japanese, the color isn’t actually known as pink. Instead, it’s called sakura no iro, which simply translates to cherry blossom color — the cherry blossom, of course, being one of Japan’s most prominent cultural and natural symbols. Notably, on the earlier model Impreza STI models from the 1990s and 2000s, the car’s front grille actually featured a distinct pink-colored I badge rather than the more familiar Subaru six-star emblem.

Looking back over the evolution of the brand, you can see that the cherry blossom-inspired coloring of the STI logo has gradually shifted from a lighter pink hue to a deeper red one – and if you’re wondering why this color shift has occurred, there’s a reason behind that, too.

According to Subaruwhen the STI brand was founded in the late 1980s, neon colors like pink were trending in the fashion and the sportswear world, but as the times changed, the logo became progressively darker, shifting toward the tone it carries today, which is much closer to red. Subaru also says the darkening of the color represents the increasing intensity and focus of the brand. Even so, you can still see hints of that original pinkish hue in many of the liveries used on Subaru’s current race cars, matched, of course, with the company’s signature World Rally Blue.

At the moment, long-time Subaru enthusiasts might be disappointed that the company discontinued the legendary, gasoline-powered WRX STI, but the good news is that the brand is still showing signs of life. At the most recent Japan Mobility Show, Subaru showed off not one but two different STI concept models. One was a futuristic EV concept, while the other was a more production-looking, internal combustion model that suggests the WRX STI’s current absence could possibly be just a hiatus, rather than a permanent farewell. Maybe if the revived STI becomes a reality, Subaru will bring back the old-school pink badging as well?