Autosnewspaper.com

If you don't quite knowyour Subarus, your first reaction to the 2010 Subaru WRX STI Special Editiondebuting at the 2009 Los AngelesAuto Show will be, “OMG. We're getting a Spec C.”

Then, you'd look behind those spiffy, graphite-finish, 18-by-8.5-inch wheels and realize theSTI Spec C's telltale gold brake calipers are nowhere to be found. Nor the stickierBridgestone Potenza RE070 tires. Nor the upgraded rear differential. Nor the coveted JDM Recaro seats. Nor the water sprayer for the intercooler. You get the idea.

So this isn't aSpec C, butweak as the dollar is against the yen, Subaru probably imagines that few of us would actually pay the pricefor the real deal.

But the wheels are real. And the 125 WRX STI Special Editions built for the U.S. markethave a suspension “adopted from the Japanese domestic market WRX STI spec C,” company officials tell us. And to that end,the STI Special Edition has 16 stiffer front springs than the regular STI, 29-percent firmer rear dampers, stiffer rear subframe bushings, and a 1mm thicker rear stabilizer bar.

All Special Editionswill be painted Aspen White. They'll be available later, rather than sooner, in the 2010 model year. Subaru will release pricing next week.

More photosof and details on the STI Special Edition after the jump.

We're not expecting the STI Special Edition to cost more than a standard 2010 WRX STI ($35,690), as Subaru has de-contented it, swapping out the HID headlights for halogens, replacing the automatic climate control with manual A/C and dropping the 10-speaker stereo for a very basic four-speaker array.

Also in LA, Subaru will introduce a top-of-the-line Limited model for the standard Impreza WRX line. As in the past, this model features leather upholstery, along with a sunroof and satellite radio.