Subaru Impreza World Rally Car 2008
Motoring Channel Staff - 22/May/2008
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Subaru Impreza World Rally Car 2008
World Rally Cars are restricted to displacements
no greater than 2.0-litres, but with huge turbos
these AWD vehicles make up to 600Nm of torque
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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. Related articles:
- Subaru Impreza WRX (Road Test)
- Subaru
Liberty GT Spec.B - Tuned by STI (Road Test)
- Subaru Forester (2009)
- Subaru Liberty Diesel (2008)
- Subaru Impreza WRX STI (2008)
- Subaru Impreza Hatch
(2008)
- Subaru
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- Subaru
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Concept (2008)
- Subaru
Tribeca (2008)
- Subaru
Impreza WRX (Road
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- Subaru
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- Subaru
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- Subaru
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