By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Subaru unveiled this car in LA, but this was my first look, and I thought it was pretty cool. For $2,000 less than the base price of a Subaru WRX STI, you get JDM STI spec C wheels and suspension. Of course Subaru had to cut somewhere, so you end up with halogen headlights instead of HIDs. Sound comes from a single-disc CD player with a 4-speaker system instead of the 6-CD and 10-speaker system in the standard WRX STI. Manual air conditioning replaces the automatic climate control, and side mirrors come sans integrated signals. This is a limited production vehicle, and the first 125 with only come in Aspen White. More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "2010 WRX STI Special Edition" »

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

The X Games Rally Super Special is history. Yeah, we know, this is not “real” rally racing or even a super special in its purest form. And its true that some of the “qualivited” action sports crossover competitors may not turn times as quick as many of the real pro ‘shoes, but it is X-citing and its good to see any kind of motorsport huck itself into the mainstream spotlight. Although this year’s super special was rather anti-climactic compared to the thrills and spills of the first four years that rally’s been at X. Make like Travis Pastrana here and hit the jump to see our StreetFire.net video coverage and more pictures and stories from X.

Continue reading "X-Rated Rally Games" »

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Home Depot Center hosted the qualifying today for the X Games Rally Super Special. Because the FMX Super X configuration holds court in the arena until Saturday night Rally qualifying was confined to the outer perimeter tarmac section. To no one’s surprise it was an all STI/Fiesta battle. However what was surprising was that the Fiestas dominated taking three of the top four spots. Indy 500 winner and IRL Champion Kenny Brack put the Olsbergs MSE Ford in the top spot but it was only good enough for 5th place on the grid. Hit the jump to see why and you can also see more pictures as well as our video of Kenny previewing X.

Continue reading "Kenny From The Brack Takes the Pole at X" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Owing to a small glitch with our photos, the EV Duster made an appearance in this week’s Showroom Showdown. It actually held the lead in the voting for a short period, but then the WRX took over, and it was all Subaru for the rest of the contest. Subaru had a bunch of boring pics on their site, so I decided to use this pic of Vivid Racing’s WRX. Pretty hot.

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

You’ll notice I didn’t put a year in front of the WRX—that’s because I can’t find anything on the 2010 car. I assume it won’t be a whole lot different from the 2009 WRX. But the MAZDASPEED3 is all new for 2010. The Mazda’s turbo 2.3 liter inline four is said to produce 256 hp, while the Subie’s turbo 2.5 liter boxer four should make at least 265 hp. The Subie is AWD and comes with a 5 speed, while the Mazda is FWD and comes with a 6 speed. Both cars weigh around 3,150 pounds and are priced pretty close to the $25k mark. Which would you choose?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

A while back I spent some time in LA on the set of the new Fast & Furious movie. It was a blast–there was an absolute treasure trove of hopped-up rides, I got to hang out with the CarDomain members whose cars were cast for the flick, and Vin Diesel and Paul Walker were actually pretty cool in real life (Walker is a seriously enthusiastic gearhead, it turns out–and Diesel was tooling around the set on an electric scooter like a giant bald kid). Judging by the rides that turned out for the shoot, as well as the star cars featured below, the latest installation is going to be more domestic-centric than any of its predecessors, with a good mix of American muscle and hot imports–all in all, something for everybody. Read on for vital stats and a ton more pics of the movie’s star cars–and stay tuned to the CarDomain blog for more details on Fast & Furious over the next few days.

Continue reading "Fast & Furious Movie Cars: Official Pics and Specs Now Live!" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Four Subaru buddies in Cincinnati decided to go for a little winter drive last week, sticking to mostly unplowed roads in the backwoods. Jeremy, who owns the black 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX, took some great pics. I have a few more after the jump, but you can see the rest over at VWVortex.

Continue reading "Fun in the Snow Subie Style!" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Subaru is definitely serious about their racing and performance image. Not a whole lot of bling here. I loved this Crawford Performance time attack car. And of course they had one of their official Subaru Rally Team USA cars. A ton more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "SEMA 2008: Subaru SEMA Booth" »

How long does it take to build a Subaru rally car? Apparently, it takes 800 hours. But this cool time lapse video of the build is only three minutes. Via Autoblog.

I have been regularly autocrossing since 1992 (yeah, I’m that old) but had never received any formal training. My entire technique was developed by trial and error. This past weekend, however, I was a student at the Evolution Driving School. This school crisscrosses the country, and the staff is made up of former and reigning national champions. I was impressed to hear that many current national champs regularly go back for mid-season tune-ups.

While autocross seems pretty basic at first (go fast and avoid the cones) there are nuances that separate a first-class run from a mid-pack finish. I guess that’s true for any sport. We did a few lessons that drove home a major point: look ahead. The sooner you see a gate, apex or pointer cone, the faster you’ll get through there.

By the way, for those who haven’t been thrilled with the shape of the latest WRX, gotta say that the car performed very well. A severe lack of negative camber caused me to tear up one Nitto race tire, but I can’t wait for our next event.