Tuesday 25th May 2010

Pics And Details: Cosworth Impreza STi CS400

Cossie-Scooby officially revealed in all its £50k glory

---

Subaru has revealed more pics and details of its Cosworth-fettled Impreza, the 395bhp STi CS400.

The Cosworth Impreza STi CS400 is limited to 155mph, and can sprint to 62mph in a stunning 3.7secs, a figure that means it just about beats its nearest conceptual rival, the Mitsubishi Evo X FQ400, by 0.1secs.

The Cosworth Impreza shares more than performance figures with its Mitsubishi competitor, too; at a fiver under £50k it's within a couple of grand of the FQ400, making it the most expensive road-going Impreza ever.

Cosworth has done quite a lot of work under the bonnet to justify the price, however. The 2.5-litre turbo boxer gets a new head gasket, a high-pressure oil pump, new engine bearings, and tougher conrods and pistons.

The turbo, meanwhile, has had a new compressor design, while the ECU has been tweaked and a Cosworth-designed bespoke exhaust system has been fitted.

The result of all of this is 395bhp and 398lb ft of torque, and the extra power isa dealt with by new coil springs (meaning a 10mm lower ride height), and 355mm AP Racing discs at the front.

Visual changes include a new front bumper and rear spoiler, bespoke 18-in alloys and mesh grilles on the outside, while the cabin gets new Recaro front seats and privacy glass.

Subaru and Cosworth are set to make just 75 examples, all destined for UK sale, and all finished in red, silver, or dark grey.

[Roberty]

A lot of money for a suped up shopping trolley, Christ you could buy a real car for that much!

[joe_90]

Roberty said:

A lot of money for a suped up shopping trolley, Christ you could buy a real car for that much!

Obvious first comment is obvious.

Hi.. Im Troy McClure.. you may have seen me in such threads as 40K Mugen Civic..

Edited by joe_90 on Tuesday 25th May 11:14

[10 Pence Short]

All these stopped doing anything for me a long time ago. They're about as ubiquitous as Elise special editions. Just as you've taken delivery of one there's a 'better' one about to hit the market.

[Garlick]

Not a fan I'm afraid, but then I don't seem to warm to this type of car. Never have for some reason.

[cronk-flakes]

It's a nice enough car, but 50k?!

[Blayney]

Remove the godawful rear light cluster... £50k is a lot as well.

Sat in a lesser model at the BMS '08, didn't like the interior much.

Could buy a lot with £50k, still performance figures speak for themselves IMO.

[utgjon]

Blayney said:

Remove the godawful rear light cluster... £50k is a lot as well.

+1

[hondafanatic]

10 Pence Short said:

All these stopped doing anything for me a long time ago. They're about as ubiquitous as Elise special editions. Just as you've taken delivery of one there's a 'better' one about to hit the market.

+1


Used to be a big fan on EVOs & Scoobies, but now I'm just not interested in them. For some reason, I'm gravitating towards Caterfields and the like.

[dele]

How much do i not want one of them?

[bencollins]

joe_90 said:

Roberty said:

A lot of money for a suped up shopping trolley, Christ you could buy a real car for that much!

Obvious first comment is obvious.

lol

[busta]

I doubt they'll have much trouble selling them. The Cosworth badge carries a lot of weight, and the performance does sounds rather spectacular for a 5 door hatch.

GTR performance, GTR price but a lot more exclusivity.

[geordied355]

Nice to see they're only making 75 and have uprated the internals, rather than just giving it a quick re-map and new exhaust, then charging the earth for it

[Staffy1984]

Interesting to see how this measures up against a litchfield Type 25.

Really like this but £50k is a daunting ammount for any Scooby enthusiast.

Litchfields have still got my future order.

[KaraK]

It's a lot of cash for an Impreza but it does look like it's got the spec to back it up. Wish they had made it a saloon though

[SWoll]

busta said:

I doubt they'll have much trouble selling them. The Cosworth badge carries a lot of weight, and the performance does sounds rather spectacular for a 5 door hatch.

GTR performance, GTR price but a lot more exclusivity.

If it gets anywhere near the performance stats of the GTR I'll be amazed.

The GTR is a supercar specifically designed from the start to be as fast as possible in all conditions and is sold at a more than reasonable price. This is just another Japanese hatchback with a some tuning done and a cosworth badge stuck on it that costs £50K!!!!!

The only reason it will be exclusive is that they will have trouble finding any more than 75 people stupid enough to buy one. Make the Focus RS500 look like a f*****G bargain....

[kambites]

Interesting, but too much money for what it is, IMHO. Still, I'm sure it'll sell so good luck to them.

[Sir_Dave]

£50k is a lot of cash for a scooby/evo, etc.

But tbh, i cant imagine many faster ways to transport the shopping, kids & a dog across a A/B road at warp factor ten, in the rain ...

[snorkel sucker]

I'll take a nissan GT-R instead please

[NITO]

I don't know why Subaru UK don't just bring in the models that the enthusiasts really want, which is the 2.0 twin scroll jdm motor as anyone who has owned or driven one will testify is a better engine/drive. - http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp/product/r205/exterior_... , I would rather the jdm Sti R205 for sub 35k anyday of the week. It already comes with huge front and rear STi calipers, has the twin scroll engine which can be tuned reliably to 450bhp for relatively little outlay.

The Cosworth leaves me unmoved for the money, I wanted it to be good, but reality is it's not 50k good. Rods/piston bearings which isn't necessary for a reliable 400bhp on the EJ20 sti, but clearly is for the flawed EJ25 engine, the seats look nice, well done, AP 6 pots are nothing new and won't match the braking of the sti model linked above and the bodykit doesn't look particularly good or different. Is it 15k better than the R205? No, because the R205 has a host of chassis mods to boot and 3k would easily see a reliable 450bhp. As for warranty, if this really is 36k/3 year warranty then that is a very poor show for the outlay, not to mention lack of confidence in the product, as someone else commented, Cosworth should carry a certain amount of weight. Still, congratulations to Subaru UK for doing something to try and revitalise the brand, but a monster price tag I don't believe is the way to do it, review the product range and bring in the right models in the first place.

As for the UK Sti, again, SUBARU UK, please stop bringing in the poor EJ25 engine, replace the WRX and STi engines with the EJ20's, reduced co2 for UK rfl, more reliable and more fun to drive. I wouldn't consider a UK car until they move to an EJ20, so if I were in a market for one of these, it would be JDM all the way!!

[Escorttom]

This or the Volvo C30 Polestar......