Iirc its in the the VIN, meaning provenance is not a grey area.
Eg a “sample”, non edition GT with all the tbSTi bits will still not be a true TbSTi, because this will not be reflected by the VIN.
Not that it matters overall, not really monetarily, since specification, mileage and condition probably has somewhat more bearing on price than the tbSTi-ness, given the age of these cars…
It does matter for some related parts though, eg the preface tbSTi auto box is in some way specific to that model’s tcu, meaning a plug n play replacement requires the matching box code, according to member Weaslebee…
As such the official list of tbSTi specific parts runs to around 30 items!
I’ve seen the list, Steve Siladi aka Sharpie may still have a copy.
From a very quick search:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28489You may have searched, but knowing what to search for, and how to search is the key
Put up your vin if still in doubt.