RE: Subaru in the BTCC!
Tuesday 12th January 2016
Well this is a surprise. There will be a Subaru returning to top level motorsport this year, the British Touring Car Championship to be precise. It will be a Levorg, it will have a boxer engine and Jason Plato will be driving it. Oh yes, and it's rear-wheel drive.
Well it was going to happen soon enough...The Levorg Sports Tourer is racing in the 2016 BTCC with Team BMR, the first time Subaru has ever taken part in the series. While BMR will compete for the Manufacturers' Championship, the car does have official Subaru backing. The engine is being designed with Subaru's technical support and Subaru's UK and Ireland MD Paul Tunnicliffe said the company is "very excited" to be involved. We're guessing it won't have a CVT 'box though...
Subaru in the BTCC!
A flat-four Subaru racing car is back, but it's for track and not stages. And it's rear-wheel drive...
Well it was going to happen soon enough...
Those of you who know the championship will know that BMR's drivers are former champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington, a very talented duo who will surely get the best out of the car. Plato has said part of his agreement in joining BMR was to secure a manufacturer deal and that "iconic Subaru brand" has always been at the top of his wish list.
The Levorg entry is part of three-year programme, the focus on developing the basics of the package this year before progressing further in 2017 and 2018. Full details of the car and driver line up will be announced at the media day on March 22 at Brands.
The season itself kicks off at Brands Hatch on April 2/3, with the Levorg set to be at every round. Can a new car compete in its first season? Will there be gold wheels? And that's before anyone brings up the BRZ...
Discussion
Oddball RS said:
I must be out of touch, I though everything now ran on a Toyota lump with a standard chassis under the branded bodywork?
Close there is a standard Swindon/Toca engine available or teams can develop their own.. RML standard subframes Penske suspension Xtrac Gearboxes and a specified rear wing... 
Good to see them racing in some form even if it's not rallying.
The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that.
Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.
The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that.
Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.Ryvita said:
Good to see them racing in some form even if it's not rallying.
The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that. Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.
Just about every dealer at the launch told them something similar, although the CVT is ok when you get to know it. The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that.
Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.Ryvita said:
Good to see them racing in some form even if it's not rallying.
The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that. Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.
There is a 300PS 2.0 version in JDM, but Subaru UK will not bring it here...maybe now they will rethink?The Levorg needs a profile boost I guess. But then it is a car that spells grovel backwards so yeah... I kinda see that.
Could have been so good too, if only they hadn't saddled it with the CVT. Or if they must then fine do that, but have a halo STI version with the jap spec 2.0 turbo and a proper gearbox... It would be a modern WRX wagon for 2015 and could compete against the Golf R estate.
indeed. I didn't even know there was such a car.Had never heard of the Levorg, which forced me to have a browse at Subaru's current range.
What a heap of crappy cars! And so many similar looking models/body shapes, half the range seems redundant? The Impreza is particularly disappointing...
Can't say I have seen any of them (WRX and BRZ included) out on the roads in London.
What a heap of crappy cars! And so many similar looking models/body shapes, half the range seems redundant? The Impreza is particularly disappointing...
Can't say I have seen any of them (WRX and BRZ included) out on the roads in London.
I had to google what the Levorg actually was, from a first glimpse the picture looked like an Impreza hatch, then I thought it was an Impreza estate... only to find it has the dull name of Levorg... Oh well.
Actually quite excited by this announcement though, as a child of the supertouring era I always think of that as the best the BTCC has ever been but these current NGTC regs really are proving popular and for a small relatively unproven team like BMR to get manufacture backing from Subaru is very impressive. Hats off to Warren Scott for being brave enough to do it.
Im also looking forward to hearing how that boxer engine sounds over the normal 4 bangers, I just hope it has that iconic rumble that you can hear from miles away!
If only James Thompson would return in a Cicely A class....
Actually quite excited by this announcement though, as a child of the supertouring era I always think of that as the best the BTCC has ever been but these current NGTC regs really are proving popular and for a small relatively unproven team like BMR to get manufacture backing from Subaru is very impressive. Hats off to Warren Scott for being brave enough to do it.
Im also looking forward to hearing how that boxer engine sounds over the normal 4 bangers, I just hope it has that iconic rumble that you can hear from miles away!
If only James Thompson would return in a Cicely A class....
I wonder if Honda racing the civic estate in The BTCC convinced anyone to buy the slow-@ss road car that probably shared only some bodywork and whether racing this Subaru will convince anyone to buy the slow-@ss road car that probably only shares some bodywork...?
The Levorg would be a tempting prospect for someone with a young family such as myself, but as Subaru UK only want to sell one with a slow engine and no manual then no. Just no. Wouldn't want the ancient 2.5 turbo either thanks. Give it the same power train as the US WRX that they inexplicably don't sell over here and now we're talking.
I can't remember the last time I saw a Subaru on the road. I miss the 90's when the BTCC was awesome and as a child I would rejoice at the sight of a massively winged jap four wheel drive rally monster on the road...
The Levorg would be a tempting prospect for someone with a young family such as myself, but as Subaru UK only want to sell one with a slow engine and no manual then no. Just no. Wouldn't want the ancient 2.5 turbo either thanks. Give it the same power train as the US WRX that they inexplicably don't sell over here and now we're talking.
I can't remember the last time I saw a Subaru on the road. I miss the 90's when the BTCC was awesome and as a child I would rejoice at the sight of a massively winged jap four wheel drive rally monster on the road...
Edited by MustardCutter on Wednesday 13th January 15:26
MustardCutter said:
I wonder if Honda racing the civic estate in The BTCC convinced anyone to buy the slow-@ss road car that probably shared only some bodywork and whether racing this Subaru will convince anyone to buy the slow-@ss road car that probably only shares some bodywork...?
Is that the same theory that no one bought the Subaru Legacy/Impreza, Mitsubishi EVO 1-10, Ford Escort mk1 & 2/Cosworth/Sierra Cosworth etc etc. Because they all only shared some bodywork too??Subaru have been through this sort of thing before. Before they put the Legacy in the WRC only farmers were buying their cars
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