Subaru Impreza World Rally Car 2008

Motoring Channel Staff - 22/May/2008

Acropolis, Greece — Based on the world-famous Impreza WRX STI road car, Subaru's new WRC or World Rally Championship model has broken cover.

The Japanese car maker unveiled the bold next-generation All-Wheel Drive Impreza World Rally Car 2008 just in time for its competitive debut at this month's Acropolis Rally in Greece.

The Subaru World Rally Team hopes the new model will help deliver improved results for the rest of the 2008 season, though as is often the case, drivers take time getting used to their new rally cars.

Subaru says that following a successful research, development and testing phase, the Impreza WRC 2008 will be driven by Norwegian iceman Petter Solberg and Australia's Chris Atkinson in the Acropolis Rally which begins on May 29th.

Outputting 224kW of power from its 2.0-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder boxer engine, Subaru will reveal the complete technical specifications at the upcoming rally, but peak torque is expected to be around 550Nm.

One of the most interesting things about the new rally car is that the vehicle, developed in-house by Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), is a hatchback model.

In the past Subaru's WRC competition cars have always been sedans, so to use a hatch is a world-first for the car company, and suggests that more development was carried out on the shorter hatchback than the upcoming Subaru Impreza sedan model.

Furthermore, the Subaru World Rally Team has enlivened the 2008 rally car with a bold new colour scheme which prominently features the famous Subaru constellation logo.

According to Subaru, the new Impreza World Rally Car 2008 "features a longer wheelbase, with shorter front and rear overhangs than the previous model" which is expected to improve its road-holding.

Because the rally car is a hatchback, the larger aerodynamic rear wing had to be attached to the tailgate, but Subaru insists it provides "optimum aerodynamic performance".

Along with the new look rally car, the Subaru World Rally Team gain matching suits, so the driver, navigator, and support crew all match the new car, "to reflect the new team identity in time for the Acropolis Rally" says Subaru.

With a proud rallying heritage, Subaru is confident of taking on the Ford and Citroen teams who are currently first and second in the manufacturers standings. Subaru is positioned third, with Australian Chris Atkinson ranked third in the driver standings.

Looking back, the Subaru World Rally Team hasn't won the World Rally Manufacturers' Championship in more than a decade, with previous wins in '95, '96 and '97. However, the Driver's Championship was last won by a Subaru driver in 2003. 

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