Subaru Impreza 2009 News

NewsText - PITSTOPS Marcos misses outMARCOS Ambrose could manage only 33rd after crashing in the Sprint Cup race at Darlington on the weekend. The resulting trip to the garage for repairs left him 20th on the Nascar points table going into the next race, his home event at Charlotte in North Carolina.Vintage RemoREMO Luciani scored the 49th state title win of his karting career as Victorians dominated their home championship at Puckapunyal. Luciani won in the over-40s clubman class to head a winner's list including Aaron Johnstone in junior national heavy, Jarrod Egan in junior clubman and Reece Sidebottom in midgets.Rising starBRENDAN Reeves is Australia's Star Driver under a scheme that is searching for the next generation of World Rally Championship winners. Reeves trumped four other youngsters competing for the Pirelli prize in Rally Queensland last weekend with his Subaru WRX.

RYAN Briscoe has slipped to second in the IndyCar championship chase after a fourth-place finish behind defending champion Scott Dixon at Kansas Speedway last weekend. Briscoe led for more than 50 laps in his Team Penske racer and managed to improve three spots from his starting position.CHAD Reed must win the grand final of the AMA and World Supercross series in Las Vegas this weekend to have any chance of beating James Stewart to the crown, after a controversial second-place finish last weekend in Salt Lake City. Reed was badly baulked by Stewart's team mate as they battled for top spot in the second-last round of the series, although the Australian refused to blame the incident for another second-place finish behind Stewart on his Rockstar Suzuki.CASEY Stoner was only fourth on his Ducati as Jorge Lorenzo took a surprise win for Yamaha at the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi. Lorenzo led home Valentino Rossi and Honda's Dani Pedrosa.SEBASTIAN Loeb and Daniel Elana stretched their unbeaten run in this year's World Rally Championship to five events when they took an easy victory in Argentina last weekend, with their Citroen C4 team mate Dani Sordo following them home. Loeb's job was made much easier when his only potential title rival, Mikko Hirvonen of Ford, retired with engine trouble.JAMES Davison finished where he started in the latest race of the Indy Lights series in the USA. He qualified eighth and was in the same slot at the finish of the oval race at Kansas Speedway.CHRIS Atkinson will be back in a rally car on the weekend of May 8-10 when he drives a Subaru in Rally Queensland. But it's not what the World Rally Championship refugee really wants, as he will only be the course car for his home event in this year's Australian championship, currently led by defending title holder Neal Bates in his Corolla.WARREN Luff is back with Dick Johnson for this year's V8 Supercar enduro races. The former fulltimer with the Queensland team has been signed to race again for Jim Beam Racing at Phillip Island and Bathurst, with Jonathan Webber filling the final endurance seat for the team alongside James Courtney and Steven Johnson.JOEY Foster extended his lead in the Australian Formula 3 championship when the Shannons Nationals classes competed at Wakefield Park in NSW last weekend. The latest English raider got the job done despite 2007 champion Tim Macrow taking a race from him, with Garry Holt and Adam Wallis also on the winners' list in the Australian manufacturers championship and the V8 touring car series.TALENTED young co-driver Rhianon Smyth has earned a big break with a spot in this year's Asia-Pacific rally championship. Smyth, who has done most of her work alongside her brother Brendan Reeves in the Australian series, was chosen by Emma Gilmour as her partner in a Subaru WRX STi for this year's Asia-Pacific series, starting with Rally Queensland next week. 

Two-time winner John Bowe leads the pilgrimmage - heading a group that includes Glenn Seton and Jason Bargwanna and Brad Jones and Neil Crompton - for a unique tilt at the Mountain.They are all chasing victory in the 12-hour Bathurst Showroom Enduro with cars which are much closer to stock than anything in The Great Race in October.The entry for the half-day grind is dominated by turbocharged Mitsubishi Lancers and Subaru Imprezas, with a sprinkling of fast Fords and Commodores and BMWs, and Bowe will be trading his traditional blue-oval cap for Subaru overalls.Bowe has never raced an all-wheel drive car before, but a shakedown at Eastern Creek in Sydney last week has him pumped for another run at Bathurst."I did 23 Bathurst 1000s so any opportunity to drive on that track is special. It's always good. It makes the rest of our Australian tracks look pretty second-rate," Bowe says."I'm not sure what to expect in the Subaru, but it looks like it will be a bit of fun. We still have a bit of work to do on our car but I can understand why people are drawn to this sort of car - you just put your foot down and it drags you around the corner."Bowe has battled since retiring from V8 Supercars at the end of 2007, but the 50-something racer re-invented himself last year as the one to beat in historic racing with a thundering V8 Camaro."I really like that series and the car I'm driving. It reminds people that you are still around," Bowe says.He was quickest qualifier in every race he contested with the Camaro, although his target is more modest at Bathurst."The aim is always to finish in the top 10. But with a 12-hour race you never really know," Bowe says."I'm with a good team run by Jim Hunter, and he and Gavin Bullas can both drive, but the first thing in a long-distance race is to have a reliable car. Subaru builds a pretty solid car so I'm hopeful."The Bathurst 12-hour runs from February 20-22 and is the start of a mixed year for Bowe."I'm doing the Biante series again in the Camaro, I have plenty of corporate work with Dunlop and Rare Spares and Wilson Parking, and driver training. I'd also like to do the odd drive in an historic open- wheeler or sports car."So I'm retired, but not retired, if you know what I mean. I still love racing and I want to keep buys. That's what Bathurst is all about, with the chance of a bit of a good result if we're lucky." 

Subaru’s iconic WRX is back with more power, better fuel efficiency and upgraded suspension. And now a boot.

More power, firmer suspension and a new boot for Subaru’s WRX.

Apart from losing around 40kgs in weight, it will get a special rear diffuser, lowered suspension that's been tweaked and stiffened for better straight-line and cornering performance, as well as revised gear ratios to enhance top speed, which should approach 270km/h. And the Spec C will also inherit the S402's 6-pot Brembo brake package and runflat Bridgestone rubber. But our source suggests that power and torque will stay the same.  

There's nothing like leaving it to the last minute to maintain suspense. From the moment Subaru announced the new Impreza WRX STI last year we've been on the edge of our seats

That their idol has been defiled by marketing executives.

This is despite new STi's ability to sprint to 100km/h in about 5.0 seconds, a little quicker than its predecessor.

Subaru revealed its new Impreza range at picturesque Byron Bay. The rolling green hills of the country’s most easterly point was an apt setting for the new look Impreza, where traditional buzzwords like ‘muscle’, ‘aggression’ and ‘performance’ made way for more refined variants like ‘elegance’, ‘cosmopolitan’, ‘sophistication’ and ‘safety’. The range will be unveiled to the public at the 2007Australian International Motor Show in Sydney in October. Subaru is offering four Imprezas: R, RX, RS, plus the turbocharged WRX manual. The roomiest ever Impreza is launched as a five-door hatch, with a four door sedan expected to arrive in Australia around October 2008. Subaru is trying to steer away from WRX as the ‘hero’ model and has instead focused more on the mainstream Impreza versions, in a bid to attract a more diverse consumer base. In his launch speech, Subaru managing Director Nick Senior said: “..While the emotion and headlines for this new Impreza may well centre around the WRX version, it is the normally-aspirated models that provide us with our greatest opportunity. “To be able to sell a $24,490 vehicle with five star safety, four star pedestrian safety, all-wheel drive, anti-lock braking system, Vehicle Dynamics Control, 2-litre double overhead cam engine, air conditioning, six airbags, cruise control and the rest of the equipment …is exciting for the brand.” said Senior. Subaru is highlighting the new range’s safety credentials — the new, lighter and stronger Impreza has as a five-star ANCAP rating for occupant safety, giving it one of the strongest safety stories in its class. “Undeniably we have the high ground in the small car sector when it comes to total safety,” Senior claimed. Senior said key structural points on all Imprezas are now reinforced by high tension steel, which has increased rigidity and ride comfort. Subaru claims improvements have been achieved with Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH) in all Imprezas. The new-generation Impreza comes in normally-aspirated and turbo charged variants. The new double overhead camshaft provides improvements in power (more than 20%) and torque (more than 7%) over the SOHC engine used in the superseded 2.0i and RV. Compared with previous models, the turbo-charged engine delivers smoother torque from lower revs. As usual, All Wheel Drive is a standard feature. Improved ride comfort and more interior and cargo space are the result of a longer wheelbase and new double-wishbone suspension. Aesthetically, the sophisticated new style is an obvious change from earlier models. The new shape has sparked debate among WRX purists, who claim the rounder, softer Impreza is too bland. The MY08 Impreza hatchback is slightly taller and shorter, emphasised by a distinctive shoulder line that carries through to the front end for a more integrated feel. Clear headlight lenses and rear LED lights with metallic highlights distinguish the premium look. The change is consistent, not only outside but also throughout the interior of the vehicle. The sweeping twin-cockpit design offers greater head and shoulder room, and the use of plastics and other materials throughout the cabin is offset by aluminium-style highlights, across the range. Subaru Impreza starts at $24,440 for the R model, through to $39,990 for the WRX.