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Aug 27

20-mile-long convoy of Subarus to celebrate life of Colin McRae

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This picture was taken a just a day after the rally legend was killed in a tragic helicopter crash near his home in Lanarkshire. Without prompting, rally fans from across the UK drove to Scotland to hold a memorial in the McRaes’ hometown, which quickly filled up with Subarus, most of them WR blue.

One year on, they’ve gotten organized. Next Saturday, August 30, Colin’s dad, Jimmy, will drive his son’s famous 555 Impreza out of Lanark and head for Prodrive’s factory in Banbury, southern England. By the time he reaches Birmingham he will have 700 Subarus in his mirrors forming an all-wheel-drive parade that’s expected to stretch over 10 miles. Then, on Sunday the 31st, another 600 scoobies are set to join the tailback as it heads to Prodrive’s test track in Warwickshire. Yep, that’s 1,300 cars in a 20 -plus-mile snake, powered by 5,200 horizontally opposed cylinders.

Although official entry to the event is now closed, organizers expect even more Subarus to show up on the day. Details of the route can be found at http://www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk

Aug 16

2009 Subaru Impreza WRX: 265 hp, retuned suspension, STI tweaks

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It’s official folks. Those of you that picked up a 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX have been had. The road-going rally rocket gets an update for 2009 and with it comes a retuned 2.5-liter boxer four-pot producing 265 hp and 244 lb.-ft. of torque – a 41 hp and 18 lb.-ft. increase over the outgoing model. Power will be sent to all four wheels through a five-speed manual – the only transmission available — with low-profile 225/45R17 summer tires replacing the 205/50R17 rubber of the 2008 model.

The suspension has been revised to include stiffer springs, uprated dampers, upper strut mounts cribbed from the STI and larger anti-roll bars fore and aft. The Aero package is no longer an option – it’s standard – and includes an STI-inspired grille on both the sedan and hatch, while the five-door receives the STI’s rear spoiler and underbody diffuser.

Impreza obsessives that ran out to buy a 2008 model might be miffed, but Subaru had to make adjustments to keep the WRX competitive, particularly with the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart becoming a serious contender in the turbo’d sedan segment.

Head to the forum for the official press release.

Jul 28

2009 Subaru Impreza WRX gets upgraded to 265 hp

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A forum member at NASIOC has posted a corporate communiqué supposedly sent to North American Subaru dealers announcing the forthcoming arrival of the 2009 Impreza WRX. Two models are outlined in the release, the first, a new model dubbed the Impreza GT, will only be available with an automatic transmission and the 224 hp engine from the WRX. But that’s not the real news…

The 2009 WRX’s turbocharged 2.5-liter boxer will get a boost in output to 265 hp (41 hp more than the 2008 model) and will only be available with a manual gearbox. The ’09 WRX will also feature an upgraded suspension (no details), an STI-style front grille, standard aero kit and a new grey wheel package, along with red stitching on the steering wheel and seats.

The memo also mentions the inclusion of a moonroof on models equipped with the premium package, along with some undisclosed changes on vehicles equipped with the ivory interior.

While owners of the 2008 WRX might feel slighted, it’s nice to know that Subaru is stepping up its game on the eve of the release of the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart.

Jul 09

Subaru changes targets for 2008

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Subaru drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson will start the second half of this year’s World Rally Championship with the freedom to go flat out and win stages in an attempt to put the new Impreza WRC2008 on the podium through sheer pace before the end of the season.

Subaru World Rally Team managing director Richard Taylor revealed that the team has changed its targets since the car was launched on the Acropolis Rally in June, with the outfit now wanting to match performance with reliability.

For Greece and Turkey, the car was run in ‘durability’ specification, but from now on, according to Taylor, speed is the key.

“We needed to get the cars through Greece and Turkey,” he said. “We needed the mileage to see what the cars could do. Now we’ve done that, we want to see the cars going as fast as they can. We’ve been testing the performance specification of the car in Finland this week, and the results have been very positive.”

The developing WRC2008 will also features improvements to its weight, both overall and distribution, and some subtle aero changes for the second half of the year.

Taylor continued: “Talking about the weight and level of protection we were running on the car, you’d have known about it if you’d dropped the sump guard on your foot! You’d also have seen how high we were running the car on the last two rallies. This will all change for the next rallies. We’re taking some of the protection out of the car to get the speed up. That was always the intention.”

D.M.: Excellent, here’s hoping Subaru manages to get up on top in this years WRC.

Jul 02

Prodrive sets up Essex police with 270hp Impreza interceptors

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Prodrive WRX Police Car
If you watched the first episode of Top Gear’s season 11, you likely smirked at the lackluster Vauxhalls that the British bobbies have to drive in pursuit of “the baddies”. But once in a while the constables in the UK gets something special in their motor-pools, like the Caparo T1, Lotus Exige, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 and Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. While few officers have actually had the chance to drive any of these epic exotics since they’re used purely for demonstration purposes, the latest addition is here to stay: Prodrive has prepared a fleet of Subaru Impreza GB270s especially for the Automatic Number Plate Recognition Team at the Essex Police department.

Not only did Prodrive set up the vehicle for the team, commonly known as “The Interceptors”, but the 21 officers that make up their ranks received a day of special instruction on how to get the most out of their new 270hp all-wheel-drive speed machines.

Jun 17

Scientists create mutant bugs that produce crude oil

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Is the price of fuel starting to get to you? Well experts from the company LS9, Inc. claim that they’ve discovered a cure for our fuel-dependency woes that only requires an army of genetically modified insects (read: industrial microbes)… that eat wheat straw and excrete crude oil (read: convert renewable feedstocks to a portfolio of “drop in compatible” hydrocarbon-based fuels and chemicals). You read that right: scientists have created bugs which are able to snack on woodchips or sugar cane and produce waste in the form of easily malleable oil.

Not only are the buggers capable of creating a byproduct which can quickly be refined into fuel for vehicles, but scientists say the process is carbon-negative — it outputs less carbon than is required to produce it. Director of the project — dubbed LS9 — Greg Pal says that barrel prices could run as low as $50, and that the company plans to have a commercial facility producing the crude in 2011. And as for the potential threat of a world-destroying attack from the mutant bugs? Says Pal, “We’re putting these bacteria in a very isolated container: their entire universe is in that tank. When we’re done with them, they’re destroyed.”

Jun 16

Transformers 2 Speculation

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Transformers in a field

A group of rabid Transformers fans decided to get together in a field last year and form the Autobot logo with 100 cars. Somehow they found someone with a helicopter and digital camera to record the moment and its been doing the rounds ever since.

Now there’s nothing quite like movie hype and movie rumors about an upcoming movie that has a preexisting dogmatic fan base. Such is the case with Transformers.

The latest buzz: the title will be “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.” (There is a countdown timer on Michael Bays website for the release of the movie” That sparked speculation about the seemingly biblical Transformer origins, where a Lucifer-like character is cast into a limbo of sorts after defying Primus, or God. The cast-off Transformer becomes known as the Fallen, and allies himself with Unicron, Primus’ arch nemesis, the Transformer anti-God. Too much, perhaps? The Fallen also appears to be an evil Transformer perpetually ablaze.

Thanks to leaked memos and the like, speculation is also frenzied about the possible new vehicle/character entries in Transformers 2. While many community bloggers bemoan Michael Bay and the GM-based xenophobia, they also have been circulating ideas about “Arcee Motorcycles.” One rendering of the character Arcee comes in the form of a vivid pink Buell Firebolt.

How exactly any of these digital characters match their vehicle counterparts is a willful suspension of logic, but this Arcee might trump them all. At least the turn signals are identifiable on the humanoid robot.

Jun 11

Australia gets market-specific Subaru Liberty GT tuned by STI

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Subaru’s Australian outpost is set to deliver a localized special edition Liberty GT (Liberty = Legacy) that’s been upgraded with a laundry list of components from the STI catalog. The Liberty GT tuned by STI makes 260 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque and will be made available with either a 6-speed stick or a 5-speed sportshift automatic. Brembos, Bilstein shocks, STI springs, a new muffler, lightweight Enkeis, and leather-and-Alcantara sport seats are but a few the features included in the 250-car limited edition, which is now on sale in Australia.

Jun 07

Travis Pastrana getting a new co-driver

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The first person to perform a double back flip on a bike has to have some loose screws. Fortunately, that quality has benefited Travis Pastrana’s medal collection, and his no-holds barred attitude has translated well from motorcycles into rally racing. Pastrana and his co-driver Christian Edstrom have won the Rally America National Championship for the past two seasons with their Subaru WRX. Now, after one event into the 2008 season, Edstrom has announced his retirement from the Subaru Rally Team. Pastrana’s spectacular attempts to perform double back flips in the WRX may have played some part in the co-driver’s departure, although he declared his desire to spend more time with his family and the need to put more focus into his day job as the real motivation behind his move.

With no lack of talent under its roster, Subaru Rally Team has pegged World Rally Championship winning co-driver Derek Ringer to step in and strap down next to the X-Games King. Ringer previously partnered with the late Colin McRae on numerous occasions, including 1995 when they won the WRC title. The new Subaru Rally Team of Pastrana and Ringer will see action this weekend at the second round Rally America National Championship event in Salem, MO.

Jun 05

Spy Pic – Subaru Impreza Coupe sets sights on BMW

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Toyota, Subaru Coupe Spy Pic

This Impreza coupé will go into production in 2010. Pics were shot outside a test center in the UK (amidst white-out conditions), the camo-clad mule is sporting some body panels pilfered from the current Legacy, but with a Toyota emblem in front, a pair of Recaro buckets inside and a shrunken trunk, there’s little doubt that this prototype is more than just your standard sedan.

Joining the recently launched hatch-back model, it will allow the Japanese company to tackle the BMW 3-Series Coupé and Nissan 350Z head-on, as well as reach out to new customers.

The car has been developed as part of a joint venture with Subaru owner Toyota – the project will also spawn a long-awaited successor to the Nineties Celica. The Impreza coupé takes styling cues from the five-door model, but gets a rakish rear end. That gives it a chunky yet athletic appearance which stands out from the crowd.

Power will come from a choice of two engines, both employing the flat-four boxer layout for which Subaru is famous. There’s a normally aspirated 2.0-litre unit giving around 180bhp, or a high-performance 2.5-litre turbo powerplant borrowed from the range-topping five-door STi. The latter will deliver in the region of 300bhp.

For the entry-level machine, the Impreza’s four-wheel-drive system will be dropped in favour of a more lightweight and less expensive rear-drive set-up. That will put the emphasis on maximum driving thrills. But the more powerful car will send power to four tyres to harness all that punch.

Subaru Impreza Coupe

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