Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Love the car. In a way, I wish Subaru would do a "stripper" STi model (or at least the WRX)... I know the STi is the pinnacle of Subaru's engineering, but not everyone wants 800+ pounds of leather, and navigation, and sunroof, etc etc... and yes, I agree Subaru needs to get a "hot" version of the 2.4 turbo in the next model, with at least 350HP. Give it at least 7"+ of ground clearance, some Primitive Racing skidplates from the factory, and bring back the gold BBS wheels (and the 5-door). Curb weight 3000 lbs without driver, and they won't be able to bring them over the pond fast enough to keep them on the lots...
So many things have progressed over the past 20 years at Subaru, yet one thing that will never get old is the spirit of the early WRX/STi. Sure it was brash, uncouth at times even, but you can't forget the things that made you famous. Seeing old 2.5RSs or the 555 Rally cars still brings excitement just from seeing the pics. IMO they are missing an even bigger market share for the WRX/STi because they've made the new cars relatively "soft" in the historical sense of the model.
I couldn't agree more.
I had a 2003 WRX bugeye that was heavily modded. STI 2.5 short block, WRX 2.0 heads, custom tune with stock td04 turbo, STi injectors and full exhaust. The car made a full 18.5 lbs of boost at just 2800 rpm. It was stupid. I could launch the car and it would crawl sideways spinning all 4 tires.
It was setup to run autocross and rallycross events.