The carefully selected mods on Mr B’s WRS STI could may
any enthusiast yell with joy.
There are plenty of reasons why the
Subaru Impreza WRX and its hotter sibling from the carmaker’s performance arm,
Subaru Tecnica International (or STI), have achieved cult status among car
enthusiasts.
One is the massive levels of rally
racing success achieved by the WRX in the late 1990s with the late Colin McRae.
But more than the sight of the factory racing team’s signature blue cars flying
along at unbelievable speeds on gravel/mud/ snow is how it has become a byword
for affordable performance.
One is the massive levels of rally racing success achieved by the WRX in the
late 1990s with the late Colin McRae.
And it was on the basis of the WRX
STI’s excellent price-performance ratio that Mr B made the decision to buy his
yellow car in late 2011. Then still serving his national service, he had
several choices in front of him, including a Honda Integra and a Mazda RX-8, but
he eventually went for the Subaru.
it was on the basis of the WRX STI’s excellent price-performance ratio that Mr
B made the decision to buy his yellow car in late 2011.
“It was such a bargain!” he enthuses.
As Mr B bought his car used, the STI’s bang-for-buck nature is even greater, as
the air intake, exhaust and turbocharger had already been upgraded.
That turbocharger is a larger IHI
VF22, treasured by WRX enthusiasts for its greater suitability in tuned
engines. It’ll need the added performance “headroom”, too, because this mean
yellow machine packs over 350bhp (over the stock 280bhp), with tuning performed
by Ken of Edge Tuning.
That’s supported by a better
“breathing apparatus” in the form of an aftermarket air intake from Blitz, an
inlet hose from APS and a Fujitsubo Legalis exhaust system. Another item that
supports the uprated turbo and engine power is a boost solenoid from Edge
Tuning.
That increased punch is good, but it
certainly wasn’t enough for Mr B, who wanted to stamp his mark on the car,
quite literally. While the previous owner kept the STI’s appearance stock, Mr B
had other ideas.
“My goal was to change it into
something that looks mean,” he tells us. And change it he did, with the STI
rear diffuser just about the only stock body kit item on his car being
original.
The vehicle is dressed up with a
Chargespeed V2 front lip, with side skirts also from the tuner. In keeping with
the mean-machine vibe, he opted for new wing mirrors, a set of slim line carbon
fibre affairs from APR. However, the crowning glory of the aesthetic
enhancements must be the carbon fibre GT wing from Japanese body kit
specialists Voltex.
The vehicle is dressed up with a Charge speed V2 front lip, with side skirts
also from the tuner.
Mr B, though, didn’t just stop at
making his car look like a purposeful machine capable of taking on time-attack
challenges. He has put an equal amount of work into making sure that, if the
mood strikes, the “Scooby” probably could.
