What The Hell Could Subaru's ACX STI Trademark Be About?

Subaru has been on a tear with new-name electric crossovers lately, but based on some trademark filings, the company may be working on a whole new member of its family that might actually be fun. Spotted by Australia's carsales, Subaru has trademarked both "ACX" and "ACX STI" names in that country.

Granted, the ACX name isn't actually new-new within Subaru's back catalog. Remember the ACX-II concept car? No? It's cool, neither did I. The ACX-II was a two-door concept Subaru brought to the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show based on the XT, powered by a 2.7-liter flat-six, and featuring full-time four-wheel drive and a center diff.

If we had to guess what the new trademarks are for, we'd put our money on a Honda Prelude-adjacent, 2+2 Subaru coupe that boasts all-wheel drive as a part of its identity as proudly as the BRZ does rear-wheel drive. Available in base ACX and more powerful ACX STI trims, of course—bringing back the STI badge in a proper, non-limited-run, non-concept, non-Japan-only Subaru production model for the first time since the WRX STI bowed out in 2021.

Alternatively, a new ACX could even serve as a purely in-house spiritual successor to the BRZ, especially given the rumor that Toyota is breaking up with Subaru for its next-gen GR86.

Another possibility is that the Toyota-Subaru joint venture relationship continues, but in the form of an AWD ACX sharing bits with the upcoming Celica. In case you missed it, a new Celica is indeed confirmed, and reports say it'll get a hybrid powertrain and AWD as a return to that model's rally roots.

The more I think about it, actually, the more sense a rebadged-Celica Subaru ACX makes. Design-wise, it could look like Subaru's Sport Mobility Concept from 2023, which blends a two-door body with the squared-off, vaguely rugged aesthetics of an SUV—exactly how a low-slung, AWD Subaru sports car should look.

But all of this remains speculation. The ACX trademarks could very well be for yet another compact crossover. I think we can all name at least two other automakers that have done a lot worse with names much more sacred before.