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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.

Editors' Picks, May 2023: Some Subarus and a pair of luxury SUVs

The month of May saw a number of new vehicles jump into the pool of Editors' Picks. Subaru grabbed a pair with its brand-new generation of Crosstrek for 2024, and the Legacy earns one in the ever-shrinking midsize sedan segment. In the luxury space, we have one entry from Britain and one from here at home. The new Range Rover already got an Editors' Pick, but now the Range Rover Sport joins the ranks. The Corsair earned Editors' Pick status before its update, too, but now the refreshed version rejoins the ranks. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, here’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get an EditorsÂ’ Pick designation. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in May that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2023 Subaru Legacy 2023 Subaru Legacy View 15 Photos Quick take: The Legacy brings all-wheel drive with sedan dynamics to a shrinking segment, and it does so with a competitive price, respectable tech and tons of utility. Score: 7.5 What it competes with: Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5 Pros: All-wheel drive in every trim, spunky turbo engine, tons of space in the rear and trunk Cons: CVT makes for a dull drive, infotainment is clunky, styling is on the bland side From the editors: Associate Editor Byron Hurd — "Not everybody has abandoned sedans. Not only is Subaru keeping some of its eggs in this four-door basket, but it's dyeing them in some festive shades. The new turbocharged and tightened Sport model makes a great case for itself as a grown-up WRX without all the GT-themed nonsense. Shame about the CVT." In-depth analysis: 2023 Subaru Legacy gets Sport trim, more tech, fresh design   2023 Range Rover Sport Quick take: It may not be outwardly sporty, but the Range Rover Sport has a killer design, gorgeous interior, buttery-smooth driving characteristics and a clean tech interface.

Subaru takes another look back, this time at the 2004 WRX STI

Here we have the followup to the rally-mimicking Impreza 22B STI that Subaru recently chronicled in its Vintage Garage series: the 2004 Impreza WRX STI. Displacement for the boxer four was upped from 2.2 liters to 2.5, and after noticing how many buyers had installed larger turbochargers on their WRXs, Subaru decided to bolt on one in-house. That gave the final product 300 horsepower and a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour run of just 4.6 seconds.
It was stiffer, it's body from nose to front doors was penned by Peter Stephens, he of the McLaren F1, it came with a driver-controlled center differential, driver-activated cooling spray for the turbos and 300 pound-feet of torque. This is a curio from a time when, after a new WRX STI came out, you started poring through magazines to see how the Mitubishi Evo was going to respond. You can find out more about it in the video below.