Scooby WR1
More Scoobies, more power
Subaru’s fastest and most powerful Impreza ever – the WRX STi ‘WR1’ – is about to enter dealer showrooms, with more than half of the 500 limited run already spoken for.
The special edition Impreza WRX STi celebrates Petter Solberg winning the Driver’s Title in the 2003 World Rally Championship. It features a power upgrade to 320 PS plus a host of technical and visual upgrades and costs £29,995 on-the-road.
First unveiled in January at the Autosport show, the Prodrive-developed ‘WR1’ has just received official Subaru (UK) engineering approval after recording the best performance figures ever for a road-going UK-spec Impreza.
For example, 60 mph is reached in just 4.25 seconds with the 0-100 mph time at an equally impressive 10.67 seconds. Prodrive technicians also logged a quarter mile time of 12.8 seconds while the top speed is limited to 155 mph.
By comparison, the ‘standard’ 265 PS Impreza STi is quoted with a 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 151.5 mph.
Peak power for the ‘WR1’ is 320 PS at a relatively low 5,800 rpm, with maximum torque or pulling power of 309.8 lb.ft at 4,000 rpm.
The ‘standard’ STi produces 265 PS at 6,000 rpm and 253 lb.ft torque at 4,000 rpm while the optional Prodrive-developed Performance Pack liberates 305 PS and 299 lb.ft torque at the same revs and reaches 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and 100 mph in 12.2 seconds.
The ‘WR1’s extra power and torque are achieved thanks to a revised engine control unit (ECU), high-flow catalyst and sports silencer.
Also guaranteed to excite enthusiasts is a driver’s control centre-differential (DCCD) via a switch mounted next to the handbrake.
It means the torque distribution between front and rear wheels can be manually selected. This allows the choice, for example, between a sharper cornering turn-in or more stable straight-line running. The system defaults to ‘automatic’ mode whenever the ignition is restarted.
Also new for the ‘WR1’ are special, Prodrive-developed uprated springs and bump-stops with a 25 mm lower ride-height.
Other handling-enhancing features include 18 ins diameter P-FF7 (Prodrive Flow Forming seven-spoke) alloy wheels with 225/45 Pirelli PZero tyres.
Externally, the new ‘WR1’ is instantly recognisable thanks to its new Ice Blue Metallic paint plus driving lamps and a stainless steel mesh grille.
Interior changes include anthracite instead of blue suede-effect seats, a special gear knob (can I say that here? ), imaged carpet mats and a tax disc holder engraved with the special edition number.
Features shared with all Impreza WRX STi’s range from a six-speed gearbox to Brembo brakes and front and rear ‘Suretrac’ differentials.
pwig said:
Ted, will you please translate this from Eurobabble into English please?
'PS'? WTF?
I understand PS and I guess we all do. WTF I can't find . . .
Great car and where will it end? I'm waiting for some european answers. A Peu to match, A Focus RS with 300 PS . . . This Scooby looks better than ever.
A Dutch guy . . .
pwig said:
Ted, will you please translate this from Eurobabble into English please?
'PS'? WTF?
Even Powertrain - the division of MGR that builds the K-Series spout PS these days.
The crazy thing is, that as far as I know, PS stands for Pferdesterke or some-such - translation from German... Horsepower. So that was worthwhile!
There's very little in the actual figures - 1 bhp = 1.0139 PS. It's down to bhp being calculated from lb ft / s and PS being related to kg m / s.
dinkel said:
Great car and where will it end? I'm waiting for some european answers. A Peu to match, A Focus RS with 300 PS . . .
AFAIK, the Focus RS won't ever get that much power. However, the Focus Cosworth that's under development may well end up with something more like that. Or if not, it will at least be capable of it with some slight after-market tweakery.
"An ST is a dolphin, an RS is a shark and a Cosworth would be a white shark." He describes how this will translate: "An RS will be for driving fun and track day use. And it should be a surprising car that might only be on sale for 18 months or so." Capito hinted the next RS wouldn't have a turbo engine and would be able to rev up to 8,500rpm - like key rival, the Honda Civic Type R"
A Scooby is a bull . . .
its a bit quick then.
im guessing that adjustable diff means you can get it near rwd. dont think much of the looks though, looks a bit more max muppetish than the usual scoobys to me
>> Edited by bad boy on Tuesday 16th March 13:58
MILF said:
Trust that Subaru are going to throw in a Burberry baseball cap & CD of loud bassy music to appeal to the usual profile of Scoobydoo drivers (wait for the response on that one.......).
This Scooby fan hates Burberry. Much prefer Hugo Boss.
New car sounds great in principle, but as previously mentioned it does look a bit Max Powerish
Chris
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