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Ford Focus ST vs. Subaru WRX for the Final ST Session Video

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

For the past five months or so, Ford has been steadily releasing web episodes of its ST Session series featuring the new 250-horsepower Focus ST hatch and a number of direct rivals like the VW Golf GTi and Honda Civic Si, while even placing it against the much more expensive and powerful BMW M3 Coupe.

The time has come for the fifth and last episode of the series, named "Control Battle", which sees the Focus ST in the hands of professional rally driver Chrissie Beavis challenging her colleague Matthew Johnson in a Subaru WRX.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Black patches of ice on the road are a driver's worst enemy as there's really nothing you can do once it creeps under your tires. Not even ABS or an advanced four-wheel drive system can save you, though; these features will indeed help you lessen the risks of getting into deeper trouble than what you are already in.

A Japanese driver of what looks like a Subaru WRX/STi was confronted with a situation like this right after coming out of a curve on a mountain road, and to make matters worse, a small truck had just crashed into the side rails and was blocking the road in front.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Once upon a time, not too long ago, buyers rarely cross shopped between Subarus and BMWs, but now, with the way that the Bavarian brand has expanded its range into most segments of the market, many of its cars directly challenge the Japanese brand's models in terms of specs and surprisingly, pricing as well.

A prime example is the newly launched in Europe BMW M135i hatchback, which with 316bhp (320PS) and 450Nm (332 lb-ft) from its turbocharged 3.0-liter straight, the option of either RWD or AWD configurations, and a UK starting price of £30,555 for the six-speed manual 3d and £31,970 for the 8-speed auto 3d model, matches the Subaru WRX STi.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Besides an assortment of tuning accessories and components, racing models and quite possibly, a selection of never-before seen concept and special edition production models, Subaru and its STI division will also debut a new limited edition mechanical watch at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon in mid-January.

The 2013 edition of the STI-branded timepiece will be produced in a limited run of 300 units, 30 of which will be offered during the show along with a special band adjustment tool.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

While the big story of the day for Subaru is no doubt the Japanese domestic market (JDM) launch of the new Forester SUV, the carmaker also released a pair of special edition Legacy models prepared by none other than its famed in-house tuner, STI.

The two Legacy models are the B4 saloon and Touring Wagon "2.5i EyeSight tS", of which only 300 examples will be produced and offered to the public in Japan from now through to March 12, 2013.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Subaru is using this week's 2012 SEMA Show to reveal a pair of special edition WRX and WRX STI models with bespoke color themes inside and out, but nothing much else.

Both Special Edition WRX and WRX STI sedans are finished in an “Orange and Black” custom paint scheme, with a Tangerine Orange color for the body, jet-black custom wheels, black front fender badging and exterior mirrors, plus black exterior graphics.

If it is tuning extremes you want to see, there's no better place in the world to be than the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas – period.

Over the next few days, we will bring you a taste of the heavily customized production and concept vehicles to grace the Las Vegas Convention Center's show floors and surrounding roads, the oddest, or if you prefer, the less mainstream of which, we will bundle under the "Oh, SEMA" tag line.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

While the BRZ Motorsport Project Car that we told you about earlier today was made purely for racing purposes, Subaru's second BRZ to be displayed at the 2012 Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) in Sydney is a street-legal model fitted with a concept sports kit from STI.

The rear-wheel drive coupe features a new range of Subaru Tecnica International (STI) performance parts and accessories, including spoilers and suspension upgrades, and which the company says will soon be available for order.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Subaru's British arm is feeling generous these days as the company has just slashed the price of the base WRX STI model by a whopping £6,000 (€7,600 or US$9,500) to £26,995 (€34,200 or US$42,700).

At this price point, the 296bhp (300PS) 2.5-liter turbocharged WRX STI costs £2,000 more than the base trim-level BRZ SE and only £500 more than BRZ Lux edition with a manual gearbox.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Who said that impressive rally scenes only take place in Europe? This insanely long jump was filmed during last weekend's 2012 Rally New York. Sitting in the front seats of the Subaru Impreza STI Rally car were driver Cyril Kearney and his co-driver Mark McAlister.

While the pair made the jump unscathed, unfortunately, they crashed their car on the next stage. You will find the video right past the break.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

After watching this video, you won't wonder why Leonid Urlichich's nickname is Crazy Leo.

At the first round of the 2012 Canadian Rally Championship at Perce-Neige, Urlichich was driving his Subaru Impreza STI flat out at 225km/h (140mph) on a snow-covered road when he gently pushed the brake pedal to slow down.

However, instead of decelerating the car started to drift and turned around hitting a tree (fortunately with the rear end) at high speed. Despite the tremendous impact, Crazy Leo continued and managed to finish in second place! Watch the two clips right below the jump.

Friday, April 6, 2012

If you believe that even with its run-of-the-mill 44bhp 1.3-liter air-cooled engine, the 1970's Volkswagen Beetle is a tough car to handle on the road, then you can only imagine what it would be like to try and control a Bug fitted with the zappy 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine from a Subaru Impreza WRX STi…

To make matters worse, the German dealer who listed the converted Beetle STi on a Romanian car sales website called 'Webcar' doesn’t mention anything about suspension upgrades.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Subaru's motorsports division has been busily working on its new BRZ GT300 racecar, which made its world premiere alongside the regular BRZ sports coupe at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show in December.

The Japanese automaker put the BRZ GT300 through its paces this past weekend at the Fuji Speedway in Japan as it prepares for the 2012 Super GT championship, which starts at the end of March.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Subaru has outlined its presence at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 with NAPAC (Japan Car Parts and Aftermarket Promotion Association) that takes place at the Makuhari Messe from January 13 to 15, 2012.

The new Impreza G4 STI Concept and a pair of new BRZ studies will highlight the Japanese automaker's stand at the show.

Starting with the Impreza G4 STI Concept and before you get overly excited, you may want to know that it is based on the regular JDM Impreza G4 2.0i-S sedan with the company's STI division adding several styling and performance goods.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The pundits over at Motor Trend magazine are reporting today that a spokesperson from Subaru of America has confirmed that the next iteration of the WRX will mark a return to a smaller displacement 2.0-liter flat four engine instead of the 2.5-liter motor used on the current model.

The Subaru rep said that new engine would be a turbocharged version of the firm's FA20 unit found under the hood of the newly revealed Subaru BRZ and its Scion FR-S and Toyota 86 siblings, with a targeted output of around 270-horsepower.

The FA20 engine, which in naturally aspirated form produces 200-horses and 205Nm (151 lb-ft) of peak torque, is more compact than the 2.0-liter boxer from the FB family of engines used on the latest Impreza and Forester, while it also benefits from Toyota’s “D-4S” direct injection and port injection technology.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Abarth 500, especially when fitted with the 'essesse' performance package that lifts the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine's output to 160-horses, is a capable little beast for its size and price, but is that enough to challenge a previous generation Subaru Impreza WRX STI on the racetrack?

Well, as any driver with some experience on the circuit will tell you, it’s as much about the car as it is about the person sitting behind the wheel. That said, the Abarth 500 shouldn't come close to an STI in the right hands but it's plausible under certain circumstances.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The good news for those wanting to burn some cash on a hot set of wheels is that Subaru has unwrapped a new special edition version of its Impreza STI sports sedan called the S206. The bad news isn't that only 300 will be built, but that all cars will be only available in Japan.

Billed by Subaru as the "crown of STI tuned cars", the new Impreza WRX STI S206 follows on from previous “S” versions, such as the S203, S204 and S205.

So what's special about the new STI model? Well, for starters, the S206 employs exclusive Bilstein dampers, STi coil springs, a flexible front tower bar and draw stiffener, which promise to further improve the car’s precise and quick cornering response.

The S206 rides on a new set of 19-inch BBS aluminum wheels, which have been designed exclusively for this model, and are shod in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Imagine this: you're all suited up, complete with racing helmet, gloves and shoes, bolted in the racing bucket seat of a Subaru Impreza WRX STI with your buddy by your side to experience the thrill of a life time on the race track.

But alas; as soon as the flag goes down your STI stalls and the engine shuts off. Your friend chuckles but no worries, just turn the key and fire up the turbocharged flat four and let's take it from the start.

Okay, we're ready now and yes, 18 seconds later you've reached the final cone and you can unleash the awesome power of Subaru's boxer engine only to…crash into a wall! On the bright side, you may have just set a new track record for the fastest crash ever…

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The highly anticipated Subaru BRZ Concept STI made its debut today at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show in order to prepare us for the production model that is scheduled to appear at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan on November 30 before it goes on sale worldwide next spring.

The BRZ is the outcome of the team-up between Toyota and Subaru, and it's a sister model to the Toyota FT-86 and the Scion FR-S rear-wheel drive coupes, and as such, all three models share the same platform and mechanical hardware including the Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter flat-four engine upgraded with Toyota’s D-4S direct injection technology.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

It's one of the most highly anticipated models of the year and today, we finally get our first official look at the new Subaru BRZ Concept a couple of weeks before it makes its world premiere at the 2011 edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16.

The STI-badged Subaru study is a thinly disguised concept version of the upcoming production BRZ coupe that will be unwrapped alongside its sister model, the Toyota FT-86, at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show in the beginning of December.