A sure-fire way to create demand is to produce something unique, striking, and historic, with a niche-following all its own. Then you take that product and make it a limited-edition item. With that formula, the product should be a “can’t-miss” article.
Subaru followed that recipe for success with the 2007 WRX STi sport compact, and after looking at it, driving it, and hearing comments about it from younger drivers, it seems apparent that the Subie with a hood scoop, rear spoiler and roof vortex, that is thundering down the highway in limited numbers, is going to be a hot commodity in 2007.
Only 800 of these sporty eye-catchers will be produced and sold – 400 in Urban Gray Metallic (as was my test vehicle) and 400 in Satin White Pearl.
Impreza WRX first hit the public’s consciousness in 1992 and made its North American debut in 2002. It has been a street legend ever since.
Designed by Subaru Technica International (the STi in the vehicle name), the high-performance and motorsports subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries, the Impreza WRX is a car that appeals to the tuner crowd, the street-race and autocross audience and to those who want to impress the multitudes in town, at the track and at car shows.
Offering performance and style, the WRX walks the walk and talks the talk.
The exterior is street-scene tunerific. A functional hood scoop adorns an aluminum-alloy hood and feeds the turbocharger intercooler. It teams with a rear bumper rear air diffuser, trunk-mounted dual-plane and roof-mounted rear spoilers and aerodynamic side ground effects to create a head-turning auto-cross beater that hugs the highway as well as any subcompact on the market. With a wheelbase is 99.9 inches on a length of 175.8, height of 56.3 and width of 68.5 inches, it really qualifies as a mid-size, but the EPA classifies the Impreza WRX STi as a subcompact, so that’s what we’ll call it, and that’s perfect for tuner enthusiasts.
The Impreza IS a performance and style vehicle, and the car DOES perform. Under the hood scoop sits a 2.5-liter intercooloed boxer 4-cylinder turbo engine that delivers 293hp and 290 lbs.-ft. of torque. In this racing-like vehicle that weighs in at 3351 lbs., with the rocker acceleration in low gear, I was able to cover a zero-to-60mph run in just over 5 seconds. A sudden and severe downpour and tornado warnings across the Mid-Pennsylvania region, kept me from fulfilling more than one quarter-mile track test, but the one I did manage to complete saw the quarter-mile line crossed in 13.9 seconds; my six-speed manual transmission smoothly changing gears without protest. While wind can interfere with straight-line attacks on the course, the front-engine AWD WRX does gallop very confidently on wet pavement on sticky 225/45ZR17 Bridgestone Potenza RE 070 tires.
The EPA rates the set-up at 19mpg in the city and 25mpg on the highway, and my seven-days of testing yielded an average of 22mpg.
The performance portion of the ride is filled out with symmetrical all-wheel drive, driver controlled center differential, front and rear limited slip differentials, 6-speed manual transmission, Brembo heavy-duty 4-wheel disc brakes, high-intensity discharge headlights, intercooler water spray manual control, 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels, inverted strut performance suspension and quick ratio power steering.
Safety is attended to with a safety brake pedal system, dual front air bags, front seat side impact air bags and electronic brake force distribution.
The trunk-mounted spoiler does interfere with rear sightlines and you do get the feeling that someone or something is following you too closely, but that is a street predicament and not something a track-driver would find annoying.
During a few runs on an autocross track, I found the STi to be responsive, but even with all the ground effects, there was some slip in tight hairpins. The sport-tuned suspension allows you to feel every bump and nuance in the road, which makes it perfect for racing, but not so comfortable for street and highway driving. While the cabin is a very loud cubicle, some of the road noise comes from the muffler-enhanced purring engine that catches the sports-car feel of the ride.
The cabin is filled with style and substance. Luxurious and sexy two-tone Alcantara leather upholstery sets the mood if you want to drive the streets even if your heart is at the race track. The compartment is tricked out with power moonroof, and additional sound insulation – they could have used more. The 120-watt 6-speaker premium audio system is adequate, but there was some difficulty maintaining station contact within the PA-MD-DE area and I suspect that the tuner crowd will want to upgrade sound at first light.
The interior is also outfitted with aluminum alloy pedal covers, cruise control and tilt steering, AM/FM stereo in-dash 6 DC player, automatic climate control system and performance design front seats.
Priced at $33,495, this is a lot of sports tuner for the price. A subwoofer and amp and destination charges brought my test ride to $34,399. Not bad for a legendary canvas that tuner enthusiasts will develop into legends of their own.
Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.
Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.
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