It’s going to be a bleak year for rallying next year

Yesterday Suzuki said it was suspending WRC activities. that was not good news but not really bad either since Suzuki is not a big name in rallying but when Fuji Heacy Idnustries pulled the plug on their rallying activities, the world lost one of the most famous reallying badge, Subaru.

The reason? Do I have to tell you?

What else, the economic downturn.

If there is any good news for rallying to day, its the fact that Subaru is nto ruling out  a return to WRC when their bank manager is a little less nervous.

I think that the decision by Subaru to pull out will only speed up the introduction of the S2000 specs cars as customer teams will probably migrate towards the class to take up the manufacturer’s void.

Citroen and their all-conquering Sebastien Loeb  will have very little competition next year and that will make Rallyign a lot less excitign to watch.

The best solution for 2009, is to encourage the S2000 field to grow and focus attention on this cheaper form of rallying and prove to everyone that less cost will not necessarily mean less excitement.

I hope some of the pictures of Scoobies in action will make you guys less sad :-(  Bah…who am I kidding

 Below is the full Press Release from the WRC

Subaru pulls out of the WRC

Subaru has announced its decision to withdraw from the 2009 World Rally Championship.

Prodrive, the company which runs the team on behalf of Subaru, broke the news at 0900hrs this morning. It said the decision was sudden and had been made in response to the economic downturn currently affecting the automotive industry.

Yesterday Suzuki confirmed it would not be back in 2009 for similar reasons.

The Subaru World Rally Team was established in 1989, when the Japanese manufacturer teamed up with British based motor sport specialists Prodrive. Since then the team has won six World Rally Championship titles - most recently the drivers’ title with Petter Solberg in 2003. In recent years, however, the team has struggled to find its previous rally winning form. It last won a rally on the stages in Mexico 2005.

“This is not only sad news for Subaru and the team, but also for millions of rallying fans around the world,” said Prodrive chairman David Richards.

“Subaru’s departure from the World Rally Championship is a great loss as it is one of the sport’s icons. The Subaru World Rally Team has created true champions such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns and its absence will be felt by many the world over. Although this decision closes a significant chapter in Prodrive’s history, our focus now turns to the future.”

While the Subaru World Rally Team historically represented a significant part of Prodrive’s business, today it accounts for no more than 20 per cent of turnover. Prodrive says it will look to redeploy as many of the rally team as possible in other areas of its business operations.

There is no news yet from Subaru about how the decision will affect Subaru’s driver Petter Solberg/Phil Mills and Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot, or whether the company plans to return to the sport in the future.

Prodrive, however, is already lining up its own rally return saying “2010 will see the introduction of new World Rally Championship technical regulations, which provide Prodrive with an opportunity to prepare for re-entering the championship with a new team and build on its 24 years of World Rally Championship experience and success.”

Prodrive also pledged to support its own customer rally teams for 2009 and beyond. Over the past 15 years, Prodrive has sold close to 500 rally cars to more than 400 private competitors and independent rally teams in 47 countries.

Present at the Impreza WRX STI launch at 1-Utama, but hardly noticed were the humbler Impreza 2.0 S-GT and Forester 2.5XT. Both sport pricetags RM100k lower than the STI, which means that they are the ones eventually more likely to find their ways into new homes, and help Subaru distributor Motor Image to meet its target to sell 150 cars in total for the upcoming year.

It wasn’t all about the STI

Currently, Motor Image’s stocks for the Malaysian market are CBU units brought over via their Singaporean parent company to three official showrooms - in JB, PJ and the KL branch, situated right outside Autoworld’s office. Customers also have the option of ordering Singapore-spec models (at extra cost, I believe). There are plans for Subaru to use one of the Tan Chong Motor plants to assemble CKD units in the future.  

Those present at the launch at 1U yesterday would probably be too fixated with the STI and who can blame them? However, those who were willing to look further would see an interesting preposition in the form of the Impreza 2.0S-GT which can be yours for RM186k. Depending on which model you compare the S-GT with, it can either be the biggest bargain, or a massive rip-off.

Impreza S-GT, bargain or rip-off?

When you consider that the bigger and no less capable Mazda6 2.5 asks for only RM174k, or that the universally acclaimed Golf GTI is less than RM20k away, you start to wonder if any S-GTs would even leave the showroom. However, those that leave the showroom, are likely leave it a lot quicker than the aforementioned Mazda6 and GTI. Under the hood, the S-GT’s two-litre turbocharged flat-four packs a massive 247bhp, comfortably trumping the 170bhp and 201bhp of the 6 and GTI respectively.

However, when you compare the S-GT against its fire-breathing STI brother, it now makes a lot more sense, because in saving an excess of RM100k, you merely lose 49bhp (I don’t know what you think, but 247 is still a lot!) and 74Nm of torque, which are figures that even puny engines would be ashamed of. Of course, you also do away with all the toys like the SI-Drive, DCCD, and VDC that the STI enjoys.

For Malaysia, Motor Image is only offering the S-GT with a 4-speed automatic transmission (no fifth gear for RM180k?), and like all Subarus, drive from the engine goes to each corner via its famed Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system. The handling department is further boosted by the use four disc brakes and independent suspension all-round, with MacPherson struts up-front and double wishbones behind.

The cabin looks like a specced down version of the STI’s cabin which is to be expected. Curiously, the S-GT’s indicator stalks are placed on the right (which is the correct position), while the STI and Forester have theirs on the left. I am a little concerned how some perceive placing the indicator stalk on the left like European cars adds a classy feel to a cabin. It does not, it was just a cost-cutting measure to save the Europeans having to engineer two different steering column designs. Just because Merc and BMW do it too doesn’t make it right.

S-GT’s cabin

Sorry Subaru, but this HU does not belong in a RM180k car.

The model that Motor Image is pinning its hopes on for the Malaysian market is actually the Forester 2.5XT. For RM190k, Subaru offers you a full-sized SUV sitting on an Impreza platform and a powerplant lifted straight from the Impreza WRX. In this state of tune, the 2.5-litre turbocharged boxer-4 engine churns out 227hp @ 5,200rpm and a healthy 320Nm of torque from as low as 2,800rpm, all of which goes to the four wheels via a four-speed auto gearbox with Tiptronic function.

Subaru Forester 2.5XT

Climbing into the cabin, one can’t help but immediately notice the close relations this car shares with the Impreza family - it’s dashboard is lifted straight from there. It’s not a necessarily good or bad thing, because for one such an approach cuts down unnecessary costs, although you will have the other school of thought saying that there is no product differentiation. At the end of the day, it’s up to the buyers to see if they can accept this or not.

I can easily tell you this is the Impreza’s cabin.

The Forester occupies an interesting niche in the SUV market. I failed to find any close enough competitors to pit it against, for other SUVs are way above, or way below it in terms of either performance, price, or both. We can neglect the likes of the Honda CR-V or the Nissan X-Trail for despite a huge horsepower deficit, both cars also undercut the Forester by significant margins. The BMW X3 and Land Rover Freelander 2, meanwhile occupy another price bracket altogether. The closest ‘competitor’ is probably the RM179k Toyota RAV-4.

The press kit given during the STI’s launch included a specs-sheet for the Forester that actually listed 6 variants - 2.0X, 2.0XS and 2.5XT each with the option of a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmission, although it was eventually clarified that the 2.5XT auto will be officially offered for Malaysia. A turbodiesel version might also be on its way, but Motor Image is not bringing them in yet because they are currently only available with manual transmission.

Another piece of news for local Scooby fans to look out for further in the future is the possible arrival of the Exiga MPV - and the 2.0GT version at that. Unfortunately, the Legacy STI will not see the light of day here, as our country’s tax structure would send the car’s pricetag into the RM500k range.

To all Subaru fans and most petrol heads, the six-letters W-R-X S-T-I represent a very magical combination. Any car bearing such a badge is bound to turn heads and is almost universally admired, if not at least respected. Around the world, the Subaru Impreza WRX has an almost cult-like following, and its eternal battles with the various incarnations of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo have filled pages upon pages of motoring magazines.

Further up the food chain than the Impreza WRX is a model that bears an extra three alphabets in its designation: the Impreza WRX STI. Don’t be fooled by this designation. If you don’t already know, the STI is more than just a souped up variant of the WRX, it is the WRX to own for many enthusiasts. Go and do a search in Wikipedia, the entry titled Subaru Impreza WRX STI is actually longer than the one titled Subaru Impreza WRX. The entry titled just Subaru Impreza is even shorter.

The acronym STI which stands for Subaru Tecnica International is a subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent company. It was formed in the 1980s to help run Subaru’s participation in world rally championships and now also injects its motor sports expertise into cars like the WRX STI, Forester STI and Legacy STI.

The first two generation of Imprezas came mostly in four-door sedan or five-door estate guise – the first gen even had a two-door coupe version. The WRX and WRX STI of course came with the same body options, but massively more powerful engines. This relationship between the variants were maintained as the third generation Impreza rolled out in 2007, but its composition was drastically altered – this current generation rolled out in a five-door hatch body style, with the four-door sedan only being introduced recently.

It was a curiously conservative styling exercise by Subaru, yet it has become one of its most controversial – its styling splitting opinions among journalists and enthusiasts alike, who have yet to come to terms with a five-door hatch Impreza. While retaining the outgoing model’s core DNA in the form of the boxer powerplants and symmetrical all-wheel drive system, the current Impreza also did away with frameless windows which were an integral element in Subaru’s design language.

Nevertheless, the WRX STI of this controversial generation was as eagerly anticipated a model as any of its predecessors during its world debut in the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. Since then, we have read review after review of this car, while waiting for it to arrive on our shores. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over, for Motor Image Sdn Bhd has officially launched the Subaru Impreza WRX STI for sale in the Malaysian market.

WRX STI makes its Malaysian debut

The launch was carried out at the new wing of Petaling Jaya’s 1-Utama shopping complex yesterday. Present at the launching ceremony were Mr Glenn Tan, CEO of Motor Image, and General Manager Mr John Lim, who both unveiled the car from under a yellow covering to a crowd of eagerly anticipating motor journalists invited to the event.

Retailing for RM298,035.20 OTR (private registration with insurance), the STI comes with a list of equipment that includes automatic air-conditioning, remote keyless entry, cruise control with steering mounted switches, HID headlamps, bucket seats in front, 60/40 split folding rear seats, six-disc CD changer, and others.

Much has been written about the new looks and body style of the Impreza. As said earlier, despite its conservative approach, this Impreza also succeed in being the most controversial. Truth be told, this writer is still beginning to accept the new styling direction, but some arguments about the car being plain ugly sounds too biased and unfounded.

The interior was not much to shout about, being not too dissimilar looking from the cheaper 2.0 S-GT version sitting not more than three metres away, although the littering of STI badges at certain areas remind you of the extra potency you have at your command, and some potency it is.

Interior hardly feels special, though STI badges almost convince you

Nice instrument panel, though 6,700rpm redline surprisingly low.

Under the hood lies a 2,497 cc twin cam flat four turbo delivering 221kW(296hp) of power at 6,000rpm, and achieving a maximum torque of 407Nm at 4,000rpm. Despite its big bore (99.5mm) short stroke (79.0mm) dimensions, Subaru has set a rather conservative 6,700rpm redline for this engine.

The engine features Dual Active Valve Control System (Dual AVCS), which is Subaru’s answer to the growing armies of variable valve timing systems out there, and like any good variable valve timing system, it offers all the usual increased torque, greater horsepower and improved fuel efficiency. 

Subaru also apparently paid extra attention to the increased cooling capabilities of the engine, devoting a quarter of a paragraph mentioning an enlarged intercooler and noting that all the extra air outlets you see on the fenders and front bumpers are not just there for show.

More than aggressive details, these air outlets work for real!

Transmitting all those dollops of power and torque to all four wheels via Subaru’s famous Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is a good old six-speed manual transmission. Under showroom conditions, the gear action was short, but surprisingly on the rubbery side – a major dent in the STI’s formidable armour. It’s not that bad, but in this end of the market, there is no excuse for not having a sharp and precise gear change.  

Fortunately, the drivetrain does have other tricks (not to mention a lot of creative acronyms) up its sleeve, which come in the form of the Subaru Intelligent Drive (SI-Drive) which has three settings – Intelligent, Sports and Sport Sharp – which changes the response of the drive-by-wire throttle, thus varying the car’s overall performance.  

Then there are also the multi-mode Driver’s Control Centre Differential (DCCD) and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC). The DCCD allows the driver to choose from different modes of control for the centre differential while the VDC is essentially the traction control system.