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Subaru previews rally-ready WRX STI for Global RallyCross

Subaru's long and distinguished history in the world of rallying is about to get another chapter, as it's set to field a team in the Global RallyCross Championship. The car? The all-new WRX STI.
Yes, Subaru will be fielding a GRC challenger, with drivers Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen at the helm. This particular car was teased earlier this week, and is a preview of the eventual GRC model which will launch this fall. The race-ready STI boasts a custom widebody kit with a carbon-fiber rear wing. The roof scoop and the mirrors are also made of carbon fiber, while the wheels are provided by Method. As with all GRC contenders this year, the WRX STI is shod in Yokohama spec rubber. It's not clear what sort of engine sits under the scooped hood, although we imagine we'll find out before the season kicks off in a few months.
Perhaps even more exciting is word that Subaru will also prepare a version of the WRX STI for stage rallies, with Travis Pastrana and David Higgins fielding the new car in the Rally America Championship. That car should arrive later this year.

New Subaru Outback spied for the first time

The Outback has been a strong seller for Subaru, especially in its most recent generation when it combined station wagon utility with crossover looks. The model is getting an imminent redesign just like its platform-mate the Legacy, and here are the first spy photos of it testing in Europe against an Audi Q5.
The cladding makes it very hard to tell what exactly Subaru is doing with the styling, but it's clear that they are sticking to the combined wagon/CUV look from the current gen. Many parts appear taken almost directly from the new Legacy like the door-mounted mirrors, creased hood and angular headlights. The windshield also appears more steeply raked than today's Outback, and at the rear the taillights look thinner and more vertical.
We are expecting the new Outback to use the revised 2.5-liter four-cylinder and possibly the 3.6-liter boxer six-cylinder from its sedan counterpart at launch. However, a previous rumor indicated the possibility of a smaller six-cylinder and a turbocharged four-cylinder being added to the lineup, but these new engines might still be a few years away.

Catch the rally bug in one easy step at Wales Rally GB

You should go watch a rally. Yes, you. And by "a rally," I mean pretty much anything that could be considered a rally. Is there a grassroots rallycross event near you featuring some $500 beater Subarus mucking about in a field? Go to that. Or a full-blown WRC event. Set your coffeemaker to kick out some extra-potent brew, because you'll probably have to wake up early and drive for a bit to see something. But trust me, it'll be worth it. In Europe, with hundreds of events concentrated in a relatively small geographical area, in all sorts of environments (snow, forest, dirt, you name it), this is a lot easier. North America is huge. Your TV is closer, your couch is comfortable. That's the challenge for hooking new rally fans in America. So, why get off your tail? I travelled to Wales, the tiny windswept country on the western edge of Great Britain, to find out. First, we stopped by David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. This was a two-part trip. The first bit was a visit to David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. The second part was the main event: watching the headline rally event in the UK – WRC Wales Rally GB – in what amounted to a tropical storm at winter temperatures. Despite the challenges, it was one of those trips that left me smiling the whole time. At the Higgins Rally School, we had a very abbreviated experience, essentially the highlights of a multi-day course condensed into a few short hours. The first was learning how to do J-turns on mud, in an old UK-market Ford Escort ... with right-hand drive, and so, a left-hand manual shift, which made it much harder to nail the technique with the "wrong" hand. Then, it was off for a lap with an instructor in the passenger seat in a rear-drive-converted Subaru Impreza WRX – flying through gravel, mud, within spitting distance of piles of logs. That was exhilarating. Or at least, it was, until the ride-alongs with the pros. Jimmy McRae, a storied driver and father to the late and even more storied Colin McRae, was behind the wheel. The car was an early 1990s Prodrive-built Legacy, a real works car, and it made demonic noises as McRae flew through the woods, mostly sideways.