A behind the scenes look at Stephan Verdier’s Rally Cross STi

Ahh yes, Stephan Verdier. He’s been a really cool guy with us, taking time to talk to us and showing us great photos of his car and sharing his stories with us. Our friends at MotoIQ had an exclusive look at Stephan’s Rally Cross STi that was a former drift car. This car has seen a lot of action in the past few years but it looks like it’s going to stay as a Rally Cross car and we can’t be more excited for him!

Here are some images of the build:

The front end is business. Well, most of the car is business but it’s got a Crawford Performance built motor and also the entire front end is built for crash protection. Hence the whole entire front end is pretty much a bar. Of course it will covered by a bumper but this is pretty nice looking.

According to MotoIQ, Stephan had the whole entire chassis acid dipped to remove excess gunk, insulation, and debris to have a clean chassis. This actually lightens the chassis and you can see how “new” the car looks!

Suspension is vital in Rally Cross. Hence, Stephan went with the WRC Spec Tein Suspension. This is no ordinary coilover system too.

So what is this? Looks like an air conditioning unit? Maybe a tumble dryer? Nope! It’s the rear mounted radiator so it keep it from harm like some love taps that the cars get when they’re door to door against each other.

Want to see a super expensive transmission? Here it is. Dog engagement / sequential shifter keeps Stephan going around the track.

The cage is different from a standard roll cage. It doesn’t utilize a main hoop but it’s more of a enclosed cage. It’s supposed to disperse crash loads. Interesting since rally cars do roll intensely during competition.

Read more about it on MotoIQ HERE!

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Speedhunters shows us some of the top Subarus from Tokyo Auto Salon

Speedhunters have to have one of the best coverage when it comes to events and they didn’t disappoint this year when it came to the Tokyo Auto Salon coverage. For those who don’t know what Tokyo Auto Salon is, let me put it this way… all the cool stuff that comes out of Japan for Performance, Racing, and Styling is debuted at this show. So, when it comes to trends, this is the epicenter.

This Legacy probably represents the “styling” aspect of Tokyo Auto Salon. It’s wild looks, low stance, and mean demeanor set the trends.

And here’s the Performance part of TAS. This particular example is based off the STi tS. Beautiful carbon roof, lightweight components, and tuned for endurance for the 24 Hour of Nurbugring. According to Speedhunters, Subaru’s theme is “Proud of Boxer” which I couldn’t agree with more!

Here’s the same car in the “street Spec”.

When Speedhunters post up more stuff, we’ll do post it up here!

Source: Speedhunters

Press Release: New FT86 Subaru Edition to Debut in Geneva… in a RWD Form

With all these “buzzings” coming from the Toyobaru, Subaru has been pretty silent about their variant of the platform. Word is now that it IS going to be Rear Wheel Drive and we have mixed feelings about this platform because of that. Meaning that the Toyota and Subaru differences will only be by skin and that’s about it. What about an STi form?

Tokyo, January 14, 2011 – Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, today announced that it will exhibit the “SUBARU IMPREZA CONCEPT” and the “Subaru Trezia” as European premieres at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show slated for March in Geneva, Switzerland (Press day: March 1 and 2; Open to the public from March 3 through 13, 2011). The “Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept” will also be showcased as a world premiere.

<Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept>

A Subaru rear-wheel drive sports car is currently under joint development as part of the business alliance with Toyota Motor Corporation. Based on an all-new platform, the vehicle will offer Subaru’s distinctive trademark and core technology: the “Horizontally-Opposed Subaru Boxer engine”. The concept embodies Subaru’s established know-how in manufacturing boxer-powered passenger cars; it shows how Subaru proposes to integrate this expertise into a rear-wheel drive car to offer a new and highly enjoyable, Subaru-like driving experience. The technology concept will demonstrate how the all-new car platform makes full use of Subaru’s engineering and Boxer technology.

We can’t wait to see this car (Finally) in the flesh!

Source: Autoblog

Top 5 things that happened to Subarus in 2010

Now that the 2011 year is upon us, we can take a simple look back on the top 5 things that happened to Subies according to Subie-life.com. I’m sure you all have your lists and we encourage you to post them up on our Facebook Fan Page!

5. The 2 Door Test Mules caught testing: It’s been some time since we have had a strong 2 door Subaru on the market and we are glad to see that Subaru thought so too! During this Summer, we saw MANY images of the “FT-86” that has been tested that is a combined effort between Fuji Heavy and Toyota. Many rumors circulated for a while about the Subaru Variant and when we saw these images of a chopped up GRB with a skin of a coupe, we all giggled like school girls.

4. Travis Pastrana’s Red Bull Pier Jump: Now, I know this happened AT Midnight on New Years Eve, but we’ll just let it slide for this list here. Subaru, Travis Pastrana, and the STi were now in MILLIONS of households this year as Travis jumped his STi at the Long Beach Harbor at this Nationally and Internationally televised event. Yukio, our head blogger was also there to witness history being broken with a Subaru. Now, most Americans KNOW about Subarus and the STi and the Subaru brand has yet again grabbed the title of being a “Cool Brand” to own by the youth market.

3.  The New FB20 Flat Four Motor: It’s been some time that the EJ20 / EJ25 motor has been with us. In September, Subaru introduced the new FB20 Flat four motor. This is the first change in the Flat Four motor since 1989 (with updated / upgraded variants). Now, this isn’t about power or about performance rather, a change that Subaru has made a strong evolution to make a reliable, environmentally sound, long lasting, flat four motor. Rumor has it that this will usher in the Hybrid motors and the FT-86 couple will also have this motor in it which will make us giggle when we know about the “STi” Variant of the model!

2. Confidence in Motion: Impreza Concept: There were teasers. There were rumors. During the LA Auto Show, Subaru of America finally revealed what “Confidence in Motion” and our jaws dropped. No more what Subaru labeled as an “Ugly Duckling” (even though we all know that Subarus are great in the performance / reliability department) and was being cheered on by designers and critics. The new design also saw the first ever “cockpit” interior of the Impreza which we all were impressed with! We do hope that this concept doesn’t deviate from the final design but we all know how most concept cars are. However, Subaru has announced that this isn’t too far fetched from the actual design that will be released in 2013!

1. The new 2011 STi Sedan: When Subaru teased us (wow, they do this often huh?) about the sedan version coming out for the STi, we all got excited. When we heard that the WRX will share the similar “Wide Body” of the STi, we all got hyped up! When we saw the final version in the dealerships we almost lost it! It was amazing! We all said it in unison though… “Subaru should have done it like this from the beginning”.

So this is our list for 2010! I know many of you have your own lists, so feel free to post them up on our comments section! Thank you for an amazing 2010 everyone!

Video: Confidence in Motion Press Conference on the Impreza Concept at LA Autoshow

By now, you’ve seen the internet swarmed with images and video of the new Impreza Concept but here is the press conference from the LA Autoshow from last week. In this Press Conference, the key people in Subaru and Fuji Heavy (The parent company of Subaru) explain their concept on this new Impreza and explain the design.

Watch here:

 

Video: SubieJam 2010 video is now up! Check it out!

We were at SubieJam in Las Vegas, NV last week and they already have this sweet video up! Check it out!

Make sure you check out Subaru of Las Vegas and Zenkai Motorsports!

Here’s our recap from SEMA! Part 1

So our SEMA adventures started off when the guys from Apollo Performance asked us to help them out on their Time Attack WRX that was going to be in a booth. Of course, we were there in full force to aid in what we could for them. We had a chance to get several sponsors for the team including Chargespeed and Rotora and helped them re-sign sponsors like Bridgestone and Buddy Club!

The Apollo Performance Subaru WRX was vinyl’ed up by Yukio from Subie-Life.com and we got a lot of love on their trunk and their hood! Our representation was heard loud and clear with this car!

A huge thanks to our guys at Turbo by Garrett for sponsoring our passes for this year’s show!

We did a quick walk around the show and we saw a lot of Subies at this show! This one was in the Eibach Springs booth featuring Prodrive wheels and a rally bar! Great to see a Red STi.

Cosworth had an EJ25 on Display with their Front Mount system, TGV Delete System, and their new Turbo System. Cosworth has a bunch good stuff!

Here’s the Cusco STi sedan that was featured in their booth with their new items like chassis bracing.

This wingless 2011 STi sedan was in the Mackin Industries Booth featuring the TE37SL wheels, Project Mu brakes, and a full exhaust system.

The other side of the car featured another set of wheels! Awesome!

A clean GRB STi with SSR Wheels and carbon bits.

A Las Vegas local with a flat purple WRX.

A Chargespeed kitted STi with aggressive Advan wheels!

Well, that does it for part 1! Part 2 coming up tomorrow!

 

 

SubieFest Video by Driving Sports TV!

Check this great video from SubieFest featuring our very own spokes model Michelle in the first seconds!

Click HERE to view the video!

Press Release: Dave Mirra captures a Podium win at the 2nd Round of Rally Car!

Seems like the boys from the Subaru Rally Team America have been very busy with the new Rally Car series that have been going on the East Coast. During the second round of the series, Dave Mirra has been able to capture his second podium win!

Subaru Rally Team USA Team Driver, Dave Mirra, Captures Second Rallycross Championship Podium Finish

Cherry Hill, N.J., October 4, 2010 – Subaru of America, Inc. – Rain added an additional element to this weekend’s Rallycross competition at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. With limited visibility, a red flag restart and his team member, Travis Pastrana out with complications with his car, Dave Mirra was still able to finish second in the A Main All-Wheel-Drive Class in his Subaru WRX STI.

“In rally you race in all conditions, rain or shine,” said Mirra “I am pumped to be on the podium for a second time and equally as excited to have moved up a position. I would like to thank the fans that came out and stood in the rain to show their support, without them we would not be here.”

Throughout the weekend Mirra held consistent results during the practice and qualifying rounds. Coming into the finals he was positioned second on the starting grid. Mirra took an early lead in the A Main and had completed two laps when competitor Liam Doran crashed into the tire barrier at turn two and the course had to be red flagged to reset the safety wall. After the restart Mirra fought off Liam Doran and three-time European Rallycross Champion, Jussi Pinomaki to finish second behind Tanner Faust, his highest rally car career finish ever.

Newly sanctioned by RallyCar (formerly Rally America), this all-new race series combines the action of circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition into one exciting race. Developed from the European Rallycross, drivers line up to start all at once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and transitions between pavement, gravel and dirt.

Race finishing positions for the all-wheel drive class were as follows:
1. #34 Tanner Faust
2. #40 Dave Mirra
3. #3 Liam Doran
4. #9 Jussi Pinomaki
5. #465 Rhys Millen
6. #70 Chris Duplessis

Subie-Life.com will be at SubieFest this weekend! Get free Subie-Life.com stuff!

We will be at SubieFest this weekend! Not only that, Michelle will be signing our SubieFest special edition posters and the first 100 people will get a free Subie-Life.com gift bag with a bunch of cool goodies!

October 9th 2010 at Willowsprings Raceway in Rosamond, CA! See you guys there!