The all-new WRX rally car from Subaru Motorsports USA is unveiled for the American Rally Association (ARA) Championship’s Open 4WD division. As we all know, Subaru no longer takes part in the World Rally Championships (WRC) and they haven’t been involved since 2008. However, it continues to take part in regional competitions like the ARA.
Just to refresh your memory, Subaru made the decision to stop racing in the World Rally Championships on December 16, 2008. The decision was made by Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), the parent business of Subaru, partly because of the current economic climate and because it believed Subaru had met its sports and marketing goals.
Ikuo Mori, former chairman of Fuji Heavy Industries disputed that the decision was influenced in any way by changes made to the WRC technical regulations in 2010 or a suspected deterioration in the working relationship with Prodrive. He said that there’s a chance a Subaru car may return to the WRC’s top division in the future. Perhaps in the future, Subaru will make a comeback in the WRC.
Okay now that you’re all caught up, back to the new monster. At the Ojibwe Forests Rally on August 24–25, the #180 team of Brandon Semenuk and Keaton Williams will race the 2024 WRX for the first time. Also announced is that the icon of extreme sports, Travis Pastrana, a four-time Rally America champion who has also competed in the Monster Jam, Race of Champions, and Global RallyCross Championship, will drive a second car in the 2024 ARA season.
The new rally car was constructed for racing by technical partner Vermont SportsCar and was developed from the ground up for optimal performance under the prevailing ARA Open 4WD requirements and rules.
Before making its public premiere today, the new car spent 18 months being conceived, constructed, and tested. It is propelled by a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, custom-built turbocharged and inter-cooled boxer engine that complies with class regulations, including a required 33mm restrictor and 22psi boost restriction.
All four wheels get the 320hp and 515Nm of torque produced by the engine through a SADEV six-speed close-ratio gearbox. R53 Suspension’s springs and dampers combine with VSC-designed cross-members, links, and hubs to control wheel movement on whatever surface that the Yokohama 15-inch ADVAN A053 gravel rally tyres come into contact with.
The new car’s development has placed a significant emphasis on the safety of the driver and co-driver, commencing with a fully seam-welded body shell and an FIA/USAC-spec roll cage made of T45 steel. An 82-litre Kevlar fuel cell replaces the normal WRX petrol tank, and Sparco ADV Prime racing seats are equipped with HANS (Head and Neck Restraint System) devices. Also included is a self-extinguishing fabric liner and FIA-approved energy-absorbing padding.
The carbon fibre widebody was created from scratch with the most recent ARA aerodynamics rulebook in mind, and it has a massive carbon fibre rear wing that is almost as striking as the car’s matte WR Blue Pearl paint and livery inspired by vintage Subaru rally cars. Rally racing may be on the rise in the United States as a result of new ARA regulations that are luring more competitors. Subaru Motorsports USA and Vermont SportsCar are entering this new age, and fans can expect this spectacular new WRX rally car to be paving the way.
Keep an eye out for ‘Next Stage’, a six-episode miniseries that provides a thorough behind-the-scenes look at the 18-month process of designing, building, and testing the new car, on the Subaru YouTube channel for an in-depth look at the brand-new WRX rally car. On Wednesday, August 9, the first episode of “Next Stage” will premiere online.
