… or so says the countdown timer on Subaru’s official website. Apparently, they have something big coming on April 5th. There already have been rumors about the new 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX being unveiled at the New York Auto Show in April. Could this be IT? Do you think we will finally lay our eyes on the real thing?
Stay tuned, and meanwhile, visit the official countdown page!
According to Winding Road, an artist by the name of Benedict Radcliffe made a wire outline of a Subaru WRX car and set it on display in London, England on Albemarle Street.
While the frame may appear to be computer generated, I can tell you this is just the way these pieces of art end up looking on photographs. Apparently, the car, parked on the sideway, was even issued a few parking tickets!
Benedict Radcliffe entitled the piece “Modern Japanese Classic”.
The new Subaru diesel boxer engine was unveiled this month at the Geneva Motor Show. While no official power figures were release in Geneva, some speculate that the 2.0 litre turbo engine will produce 163hp and 251lb-ft of torque. The first Subaru cars which will be equipped with the new diesel engine will be the Legacy and Outback and they are expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2008. The Impreza and Forester models will follow on, but the dates have not yet been confirmed.
With the new diesel engine, Subaru wishes to increase its sales in Europe by up to 40 percent over the next three years. No words of a Subaru diesel engine in North America yet.
Rally Mexico started great for Petter Solberg, who set the leading pace during most of Leg 1. Sadly, during special stage 5, he had to retire. The oil light started to blink in his car and by the end of the stage, the car had run out of oil. It appears a bit of damage was done to the oil cooler and the car was leaking. Still, Petter enjoyed the feel of the car and he found the pace very encouraging:
Petter said:
Overall, it’s important to note that we had the winning pace, even on the repeated stages, and things like tyre wear and general feeling were very, very good. We were leading the rally here, and I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re doing that again.
Chris Atkinson, on the other hand, finished the rally 5th overall. He says he’s enjoyed the feeling of the car immensely and that the pace they set during the rally was encouraging for the whole team.
Chris said:
It’s already got better traction, more stability and a more consistent feel than last year’s car. Now it’s a case of fine tuning it for me and Petter after we’ve had a chance to analyze what we’ve learned in Mexico. But I’d say things are looking positive for Portugal.
Although the team didn’t get the podium finish that we were hoping for, the new Subaru WRC07 showed great promise during the rally. The team seems very confident about the leading pace they set during Rally Mexico, and they are eager to bring out the potential of the Subaru WRC 2007 in Rally de Portugal starting on March 29th.
Source: SWRT
The Subaru World Rally Team has unveiled the Subaru Impreza WRC 2007 last Friday. The new car will make its debut at Mexico Rally this weekend. Both Subaru drivers Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson will be driving the new car in Mexico. The team believes the Subaru Impreza WRC 2007 will be a great asset for the rest of the rally championship.
As expected, the overall body work is pretty much the same as the WRC06 car. The big changes are under the hood.
What’s new under the hood
What’s new externally
What are the benefits
The Subaru Impreza WRC 2007 has been developed in collaboration with Fuji Heavy and Subaru Tecnica International in Japan, and the Subaru World Rally Team in England. The teams in Japan were responsible for the car’s aerodynamics and power unit.
Shigeo Sugaya, manufacturer principal, engineering, for the Subaru World Rally Team, said:
“The WRC2007 does not represent a radical change for the team, instead we have made small evolutions in several areas.”
The Subaru WRC 2007 is expected to perform well this season. Let’s wish the Subaru World Rally Team better luck this year with the new car!
Source: SWRT
The Discovery Channel is making a documentary series around the 2006 WRC season entitled “Engineering the World Rally”.
“‘Engineering the World Rally’ joins the Subaru WRT as they and their driver, Petter Solberg, fight for the championship. With exclusive behind-the-scenes access for an entire season, this six-part series provides a unique insight into the deeply secretive world of big budget motorsport, getting under the skin of the British-run Subaru World Rally Team and following their every move as they prepare the cars for each event, test and shakedown.
What unfolds is a rollercoaster of action both behind-the-scenes and on the rally stage as they endure the worst year they’ve ever had. Driver issues, endless car trouble and pure bad luck sees them constantly fighting to keep pace with their rivals.”
It will be a very interesting documentary for any World Rally Championship fans. The first episode will air on Discovery Channel on Monday, March 12.
Source: crash.net
Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent company, has missed its 5-year sales goal they had set in 2002. To reach a bigger part of the market, Subaru aims at being more present in the U.S. market. This means the following:
Let’s help spread the Subaru all-wheel drive fun!
Source: Autoblog
The Consumer Reports magazine features the list of the best and worst used vehicles for 10 years, 1997 through 2006, in their annual April Auto Issue.
The Subaru Impreza and the Subaru Impreza WRX have both performed well in Consumer Reports road tests and have had several years of better-than-average reliability according to the survey respondents.
Other Subaru cars that have performed well are the Forester, Outback and Legacy.
Braille Auto Development has released the Oxygen Racing Seat for the Subaru WRX STI. The new seats were developed in collaboration with doctors and physical therapists to make the seat more comfortable and put less stress on the human body during long drives and race driving.
The new Braille Oxygen Racing Seats for the Subaru WRX STI offers many advantages over the stock seats, notably:
The seats are made of a fiberglass reinforced plastic shell, which makes them the lightest full-sized racing seats in the world without sacrificing safety. One seat weights a mere 16 pounds and you can buy one for $899 from Braille’s web site.
While these new racing seats won’t gain you any HPs on your Subaru WRX, they sure look comfy!
Via: HSPN
Petter Solberg finished in 4th place, 16.5 seconds shy of a podium, scoring 5 points for Subaru. Chris Atkinson on the other hand made a mistake on Leg 2: about 18km into SS9, he spun off into a snow bank and got stuck at the edge of the road. This cost him about 16 minutes, dropping him out of the top ten. He finished the rally 19th.
This was the last rally for the Subaru WRC06: the next event is Mexico, and the Subaru World Rally Team will get to drive the Subaru WRC 2007 car for the first time. Both pilots are eager to compete in the new car, as the both feel they will be much more competitive driving the new WRC07.
Petter Solberg:
“It was a shame that Henning got past me, but I’m still happy with this result in the circumstances. We couldn’t have gone any quicker. We have been very realistic about what we can achieve on this rally and we have followed our strategy accordingly. The main thing was for us to finish in the points and not make any mistakes. This was the final rally with the WRC2006 and the points we’ve got here are very important for the season. It has been an incredible experience to drive these stages in front of so many spectators and see so many Norwegian flags.”
Chris Atkinson:
“It’s been a tough rally for us, although there’s no doubt that without the mistake on Saturday morning we would have been in the points. I have struggled a bit with my confidence this weekend compared to Sweden. I haven’t been able to have the same feeling with the car. Now this rally is over we can start to look forward to Mexico and the first rally with the new WRC2007. We can make some steps forward now.”
Source: SWRT
