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Personally I cant see Subaru using any other car other than the Impreza in any form of motor sport without shooting themselves in the foot.
They MAY be able to get away with using a Legacy, but the Impreza name is sin-ominous with rallying (and other motor sport) so to use another model would leave people asking what the point of the WRX STi was anymore.
As for the Sub-ota (SUbaru/Toyota joint venture) anyone know what car specs its likely to have? pics?
Doing a google on ' Toyota FT-86 ' will yield pix & specs of the near-production version shown at the Tokyo Motor Show.Quote:
Originally Posted by grugsticles
It will be rear wheel drive in keeping with their marketing concept (Future Toyota AE86!). The engine will utilise Toyota's direct fuel injection system on a normally-aspirated 2-litre Subaru boxer engine to produce about 200Ps.
Subaru's version is further from the production stage. If it proceeds, as well as the same NA engined RWD version as Toyota, there's strong likelihood of a turbo 4WD version, too.
The floor pan for both models is a modified Impreza one.
Source: Interviews with Toyota & Subaru staff at Tokyo Motor Show reported in October/November issue of Best Car magazine (Japan)
Well let's not kid ourselves here. One look at the mooted joint venture car is enough to tell you that it isn't a rally car. Not in this era anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Motorsportfun
And also the Japanese board of Subaru is not going to just suddenly click their fingers and they will be back in rallying. They will have to sell cars and go through their Japanese decision making processes. You can make all the winky faces you want but I couldn't realistically see them back until at least 2013.
What I'd like Subaru to do is release something a bit smaller to try and hook in a younger market. They could still badge it an Impreza but in a more affordable but sporty entry-level car. They could go rallying with it and open themselves out to a much larger part of the market. Then in the future maybe these people go on to buy full-blown Impreza's.
Anyone can't click their fingers and enter rallying again in a moment. As I said, they need to sell lots of cars BEFORE CONSIDERING A RETURN.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Did you read me or not? :dozey: :confused:
Yeah I read what you put. For some reason I thought you were making out they would be back soon but on reflection you weren't. That's my bad anyway I apologise.
Whatever year it is I will be happy when the blue cars return!
Few things in Autosport this week:
Martin Prokop to the S2000 cup next season in either a Fabia or Fiesta.
Prodrive close to a decision on WRC - either with Mini or possibly Mazda. Looks like it will be decided before the end of this year.
Tyre manufacturers Pirelli, BfGoodrich and Hankook are going in for the tender for 2011-13. Decision will be released on December 14.
I didn't realise but BfG are stopping their IRC prize drive for next year in the IRC too.
Get rid of control tyres! Let the teams choose who they want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
Why not? :confused: I'm no expert on cars, but if Ford and Citroen can make rally cars out of the Fiesta and DS3, I don't see why the ft-86 would be harder. I thought it might be a bit easier since its already designed around good handling and a low center of mass.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simmi
All I mean is that it doesn't seem to be in the direction that other manufacturers are going for S2000 - as in smaller hatchbacks.Quote:
Originally Posted by serial jeff
It would stick out like a sore thumb but it would be a nice looking rally car.
True, but that may just be because they don't have anything more suitable. As far as I know, Ford and Citroen don't even make any lightweight sports cars.
Looking at overall dimensions, the ft-86 is very similar to the Fiesta and 207. Compared to the 207 it's 13cm longer while the wheelbase and width are approximately the same. I can't see a few centimetres making a big difference... it's also about 21cm lower than the road-going 207, which should help significantly with air resistance (although I'm sure that's partly due to less ground clearance in the stock setups).