Friday 23rd October 2015

Subaru Legacy: Pic Of The Week

Ari Vatanen, a Subaru, lots of mud and even more rocks - rally win!

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Subaru pictures are popular. Anything associated with Ari Vatanen is popular. So combine the two and... but more than simply bringing those together, this PoTW is just really cool. Well, we think so.

What's your first memory of rallying? Does it involve a car screaming through a forest? Bingo. Even here in a still image there's an implication of speed and absolute commitment. Lord knows what the photographer looked like after a weekend like this in Wales but it's being appreciated now!

And it's a Legacy, the forgotten Subaru rally car. This pic is from 1992, where Subaru only entered four WRC events but McRae won the British Rally Championship. Vatanen took a second place with the Legacy and McRae actually took his first Subaru win in one too. Then a new car was launched during the 1993 season and, well, we know what happened next...

Traditional (4:3)
Computer widescreen (16:10)
TV widescreen (16:9)
Portrait (smartphone etc)

Image: LAT

[rastapasta]

Yeah this is why I drove a Subaru Legacy

[Turbobanana]

Yeah this is why I stood for hours in cold, wet conditions in the Welsh forests (or Kielder, for that matter).

Was there for this event too, 1992.

[soad]

'tis nice. Linked video is even better.

[Motorrad]

Good stuff, this is why the SOTW legacy was so cool, I reckon the tool who was slagging them off could do to educate themselves

[Itsallicanafford]

Cracking shot!

Definitely taken with flash, some sort of Slow Sync technique?

[Turbobanana]

Itsallicanafford said:

Cracking shot!

Definitely taken with flash, some sort of Slow Sync technique?

Yes - first curtain flash because the motion is in the same direction of travel as the Legacy.

I do it quite a lot, but with the advent of digital photography it's a hell of a lot easier to get it right than it was back then...

[ilovequo]

First Rally memory...
Watching Bertie Fisher in this Impreza snaking down a hillside on the Donegal Rally!

93, 94, 95?? I can still hear the anti-lag bang as he went past...

[Oddball RS]

This was before it became the Rally of Wales! when it used to be a proper rally!

[ProBodge]

The man himself reunited with car at Prodrive's new facility recently:

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/...

[BlimeyCharlie]

A curious lack of interest in this...
I guess I'm an old-timer, in that I followed the rally in 1992 in my 1990 Ford Escort 1.6GL.
Those were the days my friend...

[Alex Langheck]

Oddball RS said:

This was before it became the Rally of Wales! when it used to be a proper rally!

Too true! I know it's a broken record, but it's a sad fact. The sport and event are anonymous to 'Joe Public' stuck in Wales - as it would if it was solely based in Yorkshire or Kielder, etc
Making the sport/ event 'compact' was shooting itself in the foot....


Anyway, the 1990 RAC saw Legacy entries for Markku Alen and Derek Warwick.....and that iconic boxer engined sound!

[belleair302]

One of the reasons I purchased a Legacy Turbo saloon.....and drove it like that sometimes too back in the day. An amazing car all things considered.

[Jimmy Recard]

Did Rothmans decline to sponsor them that year so they just changed 'Rothmans' to 'Rallying'?

That looks very much like the old Rothmans writing to me.

[Alex Langheck]

Jimmy Recard said:

Did Rothmans decline to sponsor them that year so they just changed 'Rothmans' to 'Rallying'?

That looks very much like the old Rothmans writing to me.

No, they did sponsor the team, but weren't allowed to run the full Rothmans branding. Later 555 State Express sponsored the team, but in the UK ran with ))) instead of 555.

[Jimmy Recard]

Alex Langheck said:

No, they did sponsor the team, but weren't allowed to run the full Rothmans branding. Later 555 State Express sponsored the team, but in the UK ran with ))) instead of 555.

Why would that not be allowed? There was no ban on tobacco advertising at that time and as far as I'm aware the UK hasn't actually imposed legislation against tobacco sponsorship in sport as it's not direct advertising.

[Alex Langheck]

I stand to be corrected, but whilst there was no ban on tobacco advertising, there was a voluntary agreement. Which is why if you look at Motorsport events in the UK from the late 80s onwards, there was no full tobacco colours. Rothmans was replaced by Racing/ Rallying, Camel was replaced by a large camel, Mild Seven by Benetton, Marlboro by either McLaren or |||||||||||||, etc

[Jimmy Recard]

Ah, it must be a bit too subtle for me to notice then. Now I think about it I did usually see the logo rather than brand names though

[cullenster]

Loved the rally Legacy, much more than the Impreza. It was used a lot longer on the Irish rally scene than on the WRC and I always thought its square-jawed looks were much better than the rounder softer Impreza (22b aside).

Has me hankering after an old school Legacy turbo of this generation.

[rastapasta]

Yesterday I was out for a spin on the roadbike and rode through an alpine valley (I live in Switzerland) where the Toggenburg ski resort is. Its about 40 km long. There are towns all along the way with about 5-10km inverals, about 4-5 in all. And EVERY town has a Subaru garage. One of them has a replica of this car out front with the Rothmans Paint job. Very cool.

[J4CKO]

cullenster said:

Loved the rally Legacy, much more than the Impreza

Ditto, and I also had a fondness for the rallying Audi 200's as well,