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By
EWAN KENNEDY
5 November 2007
Subaru has taken a major change in routes with its latest WRX
lineup. The standard car has been softened a little to make it appeal to
a wider range of drivers. To compensate for this, the hot variant, the
WRX STI is wilder than ever before.
The WRX already competes in the first division of
the WRC (World Rally Championship), with Aussie Chris Atkinson as
one of the drivers. Now it’s keen to take part in Group N events
for production cars. Subaru did well in this segment during the
mid-1990s, but hasn’t had a lot of glory since then. The plan is
for that to change during the 2008 season by using a hotter than
ever STI.
So the road going car will be a very special
machine aimed at being homologated for Group N by the FIA. That’s
the good news, but there may, repeat may, be bad news as well.
Because the cars coming to Australia haven’t been confirmed as
having the same red-hot specs as the Japanese model.
Big guards, huge 18-inch wheels, that trademark
bonnet scoop, a rear wing extending from the roof, and a rear
diffuser leave no doubt that this latest Subaru STI is very
serious about its intentions. Inside, there will be Recaro seats,
with leather facings as part of the upmarket version, sports
instruments and special decals on the sill plates. The visual
changes seem likely to get to Australia.
There's plenty of mechanical trickery under that
sensational body to back up the appearance. But the engine to be
used in Australia isn’t the 2.0-litre unit seen on the Japanese
STI we watched being unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last week.
Instead ours will be a 2.5-litre variant. Japanese engines will
have around 227 kW and 422 Nm. Ours may be backed off a little on
power, but hopefully can manage at least as much torque. Perhaps
even more because torque is very much a factor of engine size.
Naturally, the engine will drive all four wheels,
doing so through a Subaru six-speed manual gearbox and a special
driver-controlled centre differential.
Unfortunately pressure of work prevented us from
accepting an invitation to Japan to take the new STI for a hot
lap, or three, on a test track this week. Life can be a bitch! We
are most certainly look forward to driving the car in Australia
sometime soon.
The new-generation Subaru WRX STI is expected to
reach Australia in February 2008 though that date may be pushed
out by a month or so due to the huge demand anticipated on world
markets. The Australian importer has long had an excellent
relationship with Subaru's head office and that should stand us in
good stead when it comes to the push and shove of demand for the
STI.
Because of the increased level of specifications
the new STI won’t sell for the same price as the current one.
Expect there to be a two-model range with prices of between
$60,000 to $70,000 though that’s educated speculation because
Subaru Australia isn’t commenting at this early stage.
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Marque Publishing Company
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