2012 Subaru Forester 2.5x on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Subaru turns a WRX STI into a bobsled and (barely) makes it work

When asked how confident he felt of a successful full run down the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun in his specially prepared Subaru WRX STI, professional rally and stunt driver Mark Higgins responded, "50/50." In reality, he was probably being generous. It wasn't supposed to be so death-defying. In fact, Subaru's original plan was to have Higgins make several runs down the icy slope, some with journalists in the passenger seat. We were among those who traveled all the way to Switzerland for the chance to experience an automotive bobsled ride. One look at the run's famous Horseshoe Corner was all it took for us to second-guess that idea. Well, that and our pesky sense of self preservation. Higgins, though, is one of those rare humans to have been born without that fear-of-death gene. Not only is the Manx driver a professional stuntman – his resume includes sequences for Daniel Craig's James Bond – he also won the British Rally Championship three times and is the four-wheeled record holder at the famed Isle of Man Snaefell Mountain Course. So, when Higgins says some sort of vehicular stunt has only half a chance at success, well, let's just say that most mortals would say something more akin to "a snowball's chance in hell." On the topic of snow and balls, it's worth noting that the timing of Subaru's bobsled run wasn't set by choice. The Olympic Bobrun hosts regular events every winter through late February or early March. Since the track at St. Moritz is the only run in the world without an artificial cooling system, warm weather means no sledding. Combine those two facts and you end up with a very narrow window in which Subaru could go about making the modified track and a WRX STI actually fit together. Enter the boffins at Prodrive. The British engineering firm first started modifying vehicles for racing in 1984. By 1990, Prodrive was focused on turning turbocharged Imprezas into championship winners for the likes of Colin McRae, Richard Burns, and Petter Solberg. So it comes as little surprise that Subaru turned back to Prodrive to figure out how to modify a 2015 WRX STI in a way that would make it survive the pounding it would sustain on a bob run. For the record, this isn't just any 2015 WRX STI. It's actually the same car Higgins used in 2014 to set a lap record at the Isle of Man.

What it’s like to blast up the Goodwood rally stage in a Subaru rally car

Chichester, U.K. — “YouÂ’re not supposed to drive at the marshal,” quipped a young woman dressed head-to-toe in the official Goodwood Festival of Speed white marshalÂ’s uniform. She smiled wryly at 17-year-old Oliver Solberg in the driverÂ’s seat, only half-joking about his rather enthusiastic approach to the starting line. I sat pinned into the Subaru WRX STIÂ’s Recaro bucket seat on my side, mentally preparing myself for the madness that was to come. Solberg waits for the go ahead to launch, then he begins stabbing the accelerator pedal aggressively. Brap, brap, brap – the acrid smell of burning rubber fills the cabin as the Subaru zings to the first corner. The car leans as Solberg flicks it in — itÂ’s tricky as the pavement transitions to gravel mid-corner, so grip is hard to come by here. The abused hay bales on the outside of the corner attest to that. Before we started off, Solberg told me the tires were too warm from previous runs. “I wonÂ’t be able to push,” Solberg said matter of fact-like. Taking it easy isnÂ’t a Solberg trait, though, and I learned that quickly. Perhaps the Goodwood Forest Rally Stage isnÂ’t what you think of when someone mentions the British motoring event. Instead, you picture hay bales lining a picturesque driveway with fancy people in hats drinking champagne and cheering at the jaw-dropping, ear-piercing metal racing by them. The rally stage is not this. In fact, IÂ’d wager to say itÂ’s the complete opposite of the traditional hill climb. Dirt and dust fill the air and lungs. ThereÂ’s a fair bit of hiking on uneven ground involved for spectators. Drivers lose control of their vintage rally cars and smash them into things. Hell, thereÂ’s even a jump. Subaru brought us here specifically for us to experience what going up the rally stage in its new STI rally car felt like with a proper racing driver behind the wheel, and boy are we glad to have done it. The 17-year-old son of rally legend Petter Solberg may not seem like the pro driver youÂ’d expect, but racing drivers seem to be getting younger and younger these days. Just look at the success that Max Verstappen has enjoyed in Formula 1 since he began. His father was a Formula 1 racing driver before him, and Oliver is similarly pursuing the same career as his father. “I always dreamed of driving rally cars,” Oliver Solberg said while gathered among media at Goodwood. He certainly enjoys racing up the rally stage, too. “ItÂ’s very, very technical.

Subaru teases Viziv concept ahead of Geneva

Subaru will be stocking its display at the Geneva Motor Show next month: The European debut of the Subaru Forester joins the world premiere of a diesel Outback with Lineartronic CVT and a display called Subaru 360 that showcases the "brand's history and future vision."
The genuine future-speak, however, is intended to be conveyed by the Viziv concept (click the image above to enlarge). This name "Viziv" is culled from the phrase "Vision for Innovation," and the "future-generation crossover" that bears the 25th-century name has been designed to be an embodiment of "enjoyment and peace of mind."
That's quite a holistic burden for just one crossover. In the more mundane world, the Viziv will suggest Subaru's new design and technology directions. Subaru has created a mini-site for the concept that will be updated during the show, but for now, it just lets us know that March 5 will be "the start of something exciting."