If you don't quite know your Subarus, your first reaction to the 2010 Subaru WRX STI Special Edition debuting at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto 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 the STI Spec C's telltale gold brake calipers are nowhere to be found. Nor the stickier Bridgestone 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 a Spec C, but weak as the dollar is against the yen, Subaru probably imagines that few of us would actually pay the price for the real deal.

But the wheels are real. And the 125 WRX STI Special Editions built for the U.S. market have a suspension "adopted from the Asian domestic market WRX STI spec C," company officials tell us. And to that end, the STI Special Edition has 16-percent 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 Editions will be painted Aspen White. They'll be acquirable later, rather than sooner, in the 2010 model year. Subaru will release pricing next week.

More photos of 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.