Subaru's 235kW Impreza WRX

Over the last decade, Subaru's Impreza WRX has become one of the world's most popular small sports cars.

Beyond its affordability, the way the WRX generates power via its boxer engine (and by the clever method in which it puts this power to the ground) is a truly wondrous automotive delight.

The only thing that Subaru has had to agonise about over the last few years was the styling of its MY02 (model/year 2002) and its slump in the World Rally Championships.

In 2003 Subaru brought in vehicle stylist Peter Stevens to update the Impreza's front end to something less bulbous than the MY02 look. He achieved that and made Fuji Heavy Industries quite happy.

And also in 2003, Norwegian driver Petter Solberg continued to improve in the World Rally Championships, and by the time the season was over, he had won the WRC Driver's Title.

Celebrating its new-found success, Subaru has unleashed just 500 versions of what is arguably the best-looking factory-standard WRX ever released, called the WR1 (full name: Subaru WRX STi WR1).

The WR1 isn't going to make its way to Australia - at least not through official channels - because it's essentially a Prodrive special edition built for the UK market, where rallying is considerably more popular.

From a visual standpoint, the WR1 distinguishes itself from your everyday $42,490 WRX with a retuned suspension package and larger wheels.

Bigger even than the 17-inch alloy wheels seen on the WRX STi (upon which it is based), the WR1 sits on 18-inch P-FF7 (Prodrive Flow Forming 7-spoke) rims shod with 225/40 Pirelli PZero rubber, the end result reducing unsprung weight and filling out the wheel arches nicely.

Giving it a more purposeful stance is a 25mm lower ride height, which includes Prodrive-developed springs and bump-stops for better cornering response.

Every WR1 has been finished with 'Ice Blue' metallic paint, plus fog lights and an integrated stainless steel mesh grille help distinguish the special Impreza.

STi bits and bobs are also in there, such as the large rear wing and aggressive bodykit.

Step inside the WR1, and any WRX aficionado will note the anthracite instead of blue suede sports seats, and other new items include a special gear knob and 'imaged' carpet mats.

Powering the commemorative WRX STi is a turbocharged, intercooled 2.0-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine. It lobs with 4-valves per cylinder, DOHC per bank, an active valve control system, 8.0:1 compression ratio and mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.

The 'standard' 195kW STi that is available in Australia is far from slow, but thanks to a tweaked ECU (engine control unit), a high-flow catalyst and a sports silencer, the WR1's 1994cc boxer engine outputs almost as much as a 5.7-litre Commodore SS.

Generating 235kW @ 5800rpm, Subaru of the UK claims the WR1 has logged a quarter mile (0-400m) time of 12.8 seconds, which is blindingly quick for a four-cylinder engine.

The fact that peak power hits some 200rpm lower than that of the STi (@ 6000rpm) is also testament to Prodrive's tuning know-how, honed in everything from F1, to V8 Supercars and of course rallying.

The WRX STi's torque output is 343Nm, while the WR1 churns out a whopping 420Nm @ 4000rpm, which makes cars like Audi's new 4.2-litre V8-powered Allroad look somewhat limp in comparison, with 380Nm of torque (though to its credit the German AWD vehicle doesn't benefit from forced induction).

With 235kW of power, 420Nm of torque and a 1470kg kerb weight, the WR1 will dispatch the 0-96km/h (0-60mph) dash in just over 4.2 seconds, and the 0-160km/h (0-100mph) sprint takes 10.7 seconds, which are all very impressive figures more often associated with top shelf sportscars.

The special edition WRX also benefits from a driver controlled centre-differential (DCCD), operated by a switch mounted next to the handbrake. Simply put, the DCCD allows you to choose the distribution of torque between the front and rear axles, so you could opt for a straight-line sprinting 30:70 (front:rear) torque split, or something more equalised, like a 45:55 split, and the system will default to an automatic mode whenever the ignition is
restarted.

The Brembo braking package consists of a pair of ventilated four-pot 330mm front and 305mm twin-piston rear discs, complete with 4-sensor, 4-channel ABS with EBD.

The Subaru WR1 celebrates the Japanese automaker's rallying success in 2003, but it also shows how talented the folks at Prodrive are, and we can only hope that the next Impreza evolution brings something like the WR1 to Australia.

The Subaru WR1 costs £29,995, or about $74,000 in the local currency.