Subaru’s Next EV to Pack 420 Horsepower, Making It the Most Powerful Subie Yet

March 23, 2026

After years of running a bit behind the curve in terms of electric vehicles, especially for a brand so closely associated with crunchy granola types and active, outdoorsy people, Subaru has been making up for lost time in recent months by rolling out one new EV after another; the updated Solterra, the Uncharted, the Trailseeker. And on Monday, the automaker revealed that the fourth model in this battery-powered onslaught will be making its global debut at the 2026 New York Auto Show at the end of the month.

Subaru is being cagey about the new model, only offering up a single shadowy picture and two salient details: the new model will offer the brand’s traditional Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, and it will pack 420 horsepower, a number that stands to make it the most powerful production Subaru ever built (as well as, presumably, annoy Elon Musk for not thinking of building an EV with that output first). The image, as you can see at top, depicts a two-box shape with the brand’s new electric vehicle-specific lighting design, as well as a light-up logo and roof rails. While the shape technically means there’s a non-zero chance it could be a wagon … we all know it’ll be an SUV.

car driving along a coastal road at sunset
Courtesy of Subaru

A closer look.

As for what size SUV it’ll be, well, the current internal combustion lineup may well offer a clue. The Uncharted is roughly equivalent to an electric Crosstrek; the Trailseeker is so close to an EV Outback, it actually goes by the E-Outback name in other markets; and the tweener Soltera, thus, approximates the Forester that falls between those gas-powered machines. The three-row Ascent is the only ICE Subaru without an EV analog … and Toyota, with whom Subaru is co-developing its electric vehicles, just unveiled its own inaugural three-row EV in the shape of the new Highlander. Those dots seem pretty easy to connect, but we’ll find out for sure when the new Subie debuts on April 1.

Headshot of Will Sabel Courtney
Will Sabel Courtney

Contributing Editor

Will Sabel Courtney is a contributing editor at Road & Track. A 12-year veteran of journalism, he formerly worked at Gear Patrol, The Drive and RIDES Magazine, and contributed to the New York Daily News and Jalopnik, among other outlets. You can often find him test-driving new cars in New York City, cursing the slow-moving traffic surrounding him.