Friday 26th October 2018

Higgins vs the Transfagarasan: Time for Tea

One road, two weather systems, 52 miles and 688 turns. Buckle up.

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The Transfagarasan highway has become one of the most famous driving roads in the world, gaining a reputation as an unspoilt ribbon of stunning asphalt, snaking its way through one of the most scenic locations on the planet; a motoring valhalla to which every driver should pilgrimage at least once in their lives. In reality, of course, it experiences many of the same problems as Britain's best roads, as its poor surface is all to often found chockablock with tourists, lorries, and other progress-impeding frustrations. But what if you had the resources to close it off entirely?

You may remember Mark Higgins' breathtaking Isle of Man TT lap, a run which ended with him breaking his own record around the 37-mile course by nearly a minute and a half. Well it seems that Higgins, Subaru, and the specially designed STI https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/secrets-of-subarus-iom-tt-record-car/34282 Type RA used in that feat, are still up for more. Which brings them here, to the 52 miles and 688 turns of Transfagarasan, and another record attempt.

A lot of the time these sorts of things are overtly attention seeking, with any drama manufactured and little in the way of genuine intrigue or production quality. That is certainly not the case here, though, with Higgins absolutely flat out and Subaru clearly not having cut any corners when it comes to videography, the result is a properly decent production. Now the wait for the full onboard footage begins...

[ZX10R NIN]

Very impressive what a road.

[tawt]

PistonHeads Sporting Tour ?

[SarGara]

Good vid and well done Subaru for doing this.

[Some Guy]

Awesome. Cant see that record getting beaten any time soon.

[andymac]

Great car , fantastic photography well done !! What a road !

[Fetchez la vache]

Wow. Impressive stuff.

[Scoobysaurus]

Great video and trust me I'm a huge Impreza supporter but what relevance is that to anything that Subaru is really doing or offering these days. It's basically a tarmac rally Impreza doing its stuff very well and reminding us all of past glories. Maybe I'm missing the point but it's not very relevant to the brand that Subaru has been for many years now is it.

[Colonel D]

Scoobysaurus said:

Great video and trust me I'm a huge Impreza supporter but what relevance is that to anything that Subaru is really doing or offering these days. It's basically a tarmac rally Impreza doing its stuff very well and reminding us all of past glories. Maybe I'm missing the point but it's not very relevant to the brand that Subaru has been for many years now is it.

With no reason to do this makes it even better, a "why not" attitude. Brought back memories of Evo vs WRX, I don`t think I`ve watched it since Mitsubishi dropped out, and it`s good to see Subaru still making these cars

[Markytee]

Fantastic! Subaru should reconsider the Sti future,can’t let it die. Come on Jaguar, Project 8 is made for this challenge....

[plenty]

Scoobysaurus said:

Great video and trust me I'm a huge Impreza supporter but what relevance is that to anything that Subaru is really doing or offering these days. It's basically a tarmac rally Impreza doing its stuff very well and reminding us all of past glories. Maybe I'm missing the point but it's not very relevant to the brand that Subaru has been for many years now is it.

Maybe not in the UK but we're not the target audience. All of Higgins' exploits including the previous IOM TT run are backed by Subaru America, where the brand is doing very nicely indeed selling 400,000 cars per year.

[yellowstreak]

plenty said:

Maybe not in the UK but we're not the target audience. All of Higgins' exploits including the previous IOM TT run are backed by Subaru America, where the brand is doing very nicely indeed selling 400,000 cars per year.

Exactly, the STI has only stopped in the UK, it's still being sold in the states I think?

[PorkInsider]

Great stuff! Looking forward to the full footage.

But in the spirit of the various car v bike threads on PH when the TT is in full swing, I’m saying that Pete Hickman, on a Superstock (99%-showroom bike), would be quicker.

(Where’s Welshbeef?)

Edited by PorkInsider on Saturday 27th October 20:42

[Scoobysaurus]

yellowstreak said:

plenty said:

Maybe not in the UK but we're not the target audience. All of Higgins' exploits including the previous IOM TT run are backed by Subaru America, where the brand is doing very nicely indeed selling 400,000 cars per year.

Exactly, the STI has only stopped in the UK, it's still being sold in the states I think?

Yes I had a look and both WRX and STi are being sold in the US and with the 2.0 litre engines

[ericmcn]

too bad Subaru are not doing WRC anymore, great video that.

[RP2000]

Wouldn't it be great to have a annual event on here. "Alla" Pikes Peak.

[thegreenhell]

plenty said:

Maybe not in the UK but we're not the target audience. All of Higgins' exploits including the previous IOM TT run are backed by Subaru America, where the brand is doing very nicely indeed selling 400,000 cars per year.

I would be good to see them take it to Pikes Peak.

[Europa1]

RP2000 said:

"Alla"

Say what now?

[C7 JFW]

yellowstreak said:

Exactly, the STI has only stopped in the UK, it's still being sold in the states I think?

Absolutely - I believe it's doing very well, too.

Not surprising, it's a damned good car.

[plenty]

thegreenhell said:

I would be good to see them take it to Pikes Peak.

As fast as the Prodrive car is, it's far slower than the quickest Pikes Peak cars. For the 'Ring time Subaru America claimed "fastest saloon car" record but presumably Loeb's Peugeot could be considered in the same class and there is no chance of this Prodrive car getting anywhere near Loeb's time.