the ultimate Impreza - Extract from SWRT newsletter
07 November 2003, 09:15 AM
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like the bit about 0 -60 mph on gravel in 4 secs using the special differentials;
The £360,000 Subaru Impreza WRC2003 - the ultimate Impreza
Body Shell:
Each Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 rally car starts life as a standard body shell plucked from the road-car production line in Japan. Approximately 600 man-hours of welding are then required to turn it into a WRC shell. Joints are seam-welded and a tubular rollcage is added to make an ultra-stiff chassis, which is two and a half times stronger than that of the standard road car. All unnecessary brackets and mounting plates are removed to save weight, the front and rear inner wheel arches are completely replaced incorporating WRC type suspension pick up points and the outer front and rear wheel arches are widened.
If all the T-45 grade high carbon lightweight steel tubing that forms the roll cage was laid out it would stretch for 85 metres.
Once complete, the body shell of the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 is so strong that it will support the weight of ten identical cars.
Gear Box:
Unlike the standard Subaru Impreza WRX, there's no gear stick in these cars. Instead, gears are selected using a carbon-fibre paddle, which is mounted to the right of the steering wheel. 'Fly-by-wire' technology, developed in-house by Prodrive, shifts the six-speed transmission; drivers simply pull the paddle to change up and push to change down and computers do all the work. Although there is a clutch pedal, it's only used by the driver to find first gear. Changing gear using the semi-automatic transmission takes only 40 milliseconds, 10 times faster than a typical manual change on a road car.
Such state-of-the-art technology doesn't come cheap. A Subaru Impreza WRC transmission costs approximately £60,000, while rebuilds (required after every 500kms of competitive driving) cost around £8,000. A customer running their rally car all season might require 3-4 rebuilds per year, that's a total of £32,000 - the same price as a brand new 3 litre Jaguar S-type!
Differentials:
The Subaru Impreza WRC2003 has three active differentials (front, centre and rear) that are controlled by a computer. By configuring the units in different ways, it is possible to affect the handling behaviour of the car in specific situations like under braking or when cornering. When tackling a variety of surfaces like snow and loose gravel the diffs are also responsible for apportioning power is such a way that the car can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.0 secs on any loose surface and 3.2 secs on tarmac.
Engine:
Under the bonnet, the engine (which began life as a standard engine block from a road going Impreza) includes a number of enhancements, which help make it competitive in a WRC car. Once all the modifications to the two-litre flat-four engine are complete, including the fitment of the regulation 34mm inlet restrictor, it's capable of churning out over 300bhp and masses of torque. The total cost of each engine is around £75,000.
Like the gearbox, the highly technical nature of the modified Subaru Impreza engine means a strict maintenance programme is required to keep it running perfectly. A specialised engine service is required after each 750km of competitive driving. At £9,000 a service (that's a potential £27,000 per season), it's a lot more than the £200 per 20,000km required for servicing a standard road car.
Suspension:
Strong lightweight materials such as titanium are used extensively in the Impreza's hubs, uprights, and dampers so that the Subaru can withstand the demanding terrain of events like the Acropolis Rally of Greece or the rocky tracks in Turkey. Using a MacPherson strut system at the front and MacPherson strut with longitudinal and transverse link at the rear, the Impreza's overall set up is almost endlessly tuneable so it can be adapted for each round of the WRC.
Each corner of the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 (complete shock absorber and brake assembly) is valued at around £23,000 - the same price as a brand new standard Subaru Impreza STi WRX.
Brakes:
The Impreza WRC2003 uses specially made Alcon brakes all round, with 305mm ventilated discs and 4-pot calipers front and rear. For asphalt use, the front brakes are uprated with larger 366mm ventilated discs and 6-pot water-cooled calipers.
Wheels:
The Impreza's gold-coloured wheels are 18-inches in diameter for tarmac rallies and 15-inch for gravel and snow, while its brake discs - front and rear - used for tarmac rallies are bigger than the wheels on an average road car!
Made of cast magnesium by OZ Wheels, the 18-inch wheels designed for asphalt use weigh 7.9 kg and cost approximately £500 each.
Tyres:
Supplied by Pirelli, the tyres on the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 are specifically tailored to each event. In contrast to road cars, which use only one tyre for all conditions, the Subaru Impreza has a choice of more than 25 tyre possibilities. A rally car may use up to 50 new tyres on each rally and Pirelli supply around 180 tyres for each car per event - for a four car team that's 720 tyres per event!
On tarmac the car runs on tyres with a minimal tread pattern for maximum grip. They're road-legal but are known as 'slicks'. On gravel the tyre rubber has a chunky tread to flick loose stones out to the side and there are studded tyres for ice and snow events. All tyres include an anti-deflation system so that if it sustains a puncture a special mousse will fill the wheel to prevent it running flat.
Retailing at around £1,000 each, the specialised Pirelli tyres are designed to last for the short distance between competition services only. That means that a competitive rally car may require four new tyres (at total of £4,000) every 50km of competitive driving! In contrast, a road tyre on a normal car costs around £70 and should last for up to 20,000km.
Seats:
Each Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 is fitted with seats for the driver and co-driver only. The roll cage takes up the place where the rear seats once were. The drivers sit in specially moulded carbon-fibre seats which weigh 5.2 kg each
Bumpers:
While the bumpers on the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 look the same as those on the road car, they are in fact lightweight replicas made of strong lightweight composite materials. The carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction keeps the weight of each item down to just 3kg at a cost of £2,500. It's not unusual for a car to be fitted with four or five new bumpers on every rally.
The £360,000 Subaru Impreza WRC2003 - the ultimate Impreza
Body Shell:
Each Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 rally car starts life as a standard body shell plucked from the road-car production line in Japan. Approximately 600 man-hours of welding are then required to turn it into a WRC shell. Joints are seam-welded and a tubular rollcage is added to make an ultra-stiff chassis, which is two and a half times stronger than that of the standard road car. All unnecessary brackets and mounting plates are removed to save weight, the front and rear inner wheel arches are completely replaced incorporating WRC type suspension pick up points and the outer front and rear wheel arches are widened.
If all the T-45 grade high carbon lightweight steel tubing that forms the roll cage was laid out it would stretch for 85 metres.
Once complete, the body shell of the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 is so strong that it will support the weight of ten identical cars.
Gear Box:
Unlike the standard Subaru Impreza WRX, there's no gear stick in these cars. Instead, gears are selected using a carbon-fibre paddle, which is mounted to the right of the steering wheel. 'Fly-by-wire' technology, developed in-house by Prodrive, shifts the six-speed transmission; drivers simply pull the paddle to change up and push to change down and computers do all the work. Although there is a clutch pedal, it's only used by the driver to find first gear. Changing gear using the semi-automatic transmission takes only 40 milliseconds, 10 times faster than a typical manual change on a road car.
Such state-of-the-art technology doesn't come cheap. A Subaru Impreza WRC transmission costs approximately £60,000, while rebuilds (required after every 500kms of competitive driving) cost around £8,000. A customer running their rally car all season might require 3-4 rebuilds per year, that's a total of £32,000 - the same price as a brand new 3 litre Jaguar S-type!
Differentials:
The Subaru Impreza WRC2003 has three active differentials (front, centre and rear) that are controlled by a computer. By configuring the units in different ways, it is possible to affect the handling behaviour of the car in specific situations like under braking or when cornering. When tackling a variety of surfaces like snow and loose gravel the diffs are also responsible for apportioning power is such a way that the car can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.0 secs on any loose surface and 3.2 secs on tarmac.
Engine:
Under the bonnet, the engine (which began life as a standard engine block from a road going Impreza) includes a number of enhancements, which help make it competitive in a WRC car. Once all the modifications to the two-litre flat-four engine are complete, including the fitment of the regulation 34mm inlet restrictor, it's capable of churning out over 300bhp and masses of torque. The total cost of each engine is around £75,000.
Like the gearbox, the highly technical nature of the modified Subaru Impreza engine means a strict maintenance programme is required to keep it running perfectly. A specialised engine service is required after each 750km of competitive driving. At £9,000 a service (that's a potential £27,000 per season), it's a lot more than the £200 per 20,000km required for servicing a standard road car.
Suspension:
Strong lightweight materials such as titanium are used extensively in the Impreza's hubs, uprights, and dampers so that the Subaru can withstand the demanding terrain of events like the Acropolis Rally of Greece or the rocky tracks in Turkey. Using a MacPherson strut system at the front and MacPherson strut with longitudinal and transverse link at the rear, the Impreza's overall set up is almost endlessly tuneable so it can be adapted for each round of the WRC.
Each corner of the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 (complete shock absorber and brake assembly) is valued at around £23,000 - the same price as a brand new standard Subaru Impreza STi WRX.
Brakes:
The Impreza WRC2003 uses specially made Alcon brakes all round, with 305mm ventilated discs and 4-pot calipers front and rear. For asphalt use, the front brakes are uprated with larger 366mm ventilated discs and 6-pot water-cooled calipers.
Wheels:
The Impreza's gold-coloured wheels are 18-inches in diameter for tarmac rallies and 15-inch for gravel and snow, while its brake discs - front and rear - used for tarmac rallies are bigger than the wheels on an average road car!
Made of cast magnesium by OZ Wheels, the 18-inch wheels designed for asphalt use weigh 7.9 kg and cost approximately £500 each.
Tyres:
Supplied by Pirelli, the tyres on the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 are specifically tailored to each event. In contrast to road cars, which use only one tyre for all conditions, the Subaru Impreza has a choice of more than 25 tyre possibilities. A rally car may use up to 50 new tyres on each rally and Pirelli supply around 180 tyres for each car per event - for a four car team that's 720 tyres per event!
On tarmac the car runs on tyres with a minimal tread pattern for maximum grip. They're road-legal but are known as 'slicks'. On gravel the tyre rubber has a chunky tread to flick loose stones out to the side and there are studded tyres for ice and snow events. All tyres include an anti-deflation system so that if it sustains a puncture a special mousse will fill the wheel to prevent it running flat.
Retailing at around £1,000 each, the specialised Pirelli tyres are designed to last for the short distance between competition services only. That means that a competitive rally car may require four new tyres (at total of £4,000) every 50km of competitive driving! In contrast, a road tyre on a normal car costs around £70 and should last for up to 20,000km.
Seats:
Each Subaru Impreza WRC 2003 is fitted with seats for the driver and co-driver only. The roll cage takes up the place where the rear seats once were. The drivers sit in specially moulded carbon-fibre seats which weigh 5.2 kg each
Bumpers:
While the bumpers on the Subaru Impreza WRC2003 look the same as those on the road car, they are in fact lightweight replicas made of strong lightweight composite materials. The carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction keeps the weight of each item down to just 3kg at a cost of £2,500. It's not unusual for a car to be fitted with four or five new bumpers on every rally.
07 November 2003, 11:25 PM
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Bloody hell! Amazing - so if yer did fancy a bit of a spin off road me thinks that even a well sorted WRX or STi wouldn't stand a cat in hells chance - sounds like our cars are as much like "the real thing" as **** is to budweiser??
Still - me WRX PPP is faster to the shops and back than our lass on her push iron, impressive eh
Still - me WRX PPP is faster to the shops and back than our lass on her push iron, impressive eh
07 November 2003, 11:39 PM
#3
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Engine:
Under the bonnet, the engine (which began life as a standard engine block from a road going Impreza) includes a number of enhancements, which help make it competitive in a WRC car. Once all the modifications to the two-litre flat-four engine are complete, including the fitment of the regulation 34mm inlet restrictor, it's capable of churning out over 300bhp and masses of torque. The total cost of each engine is around £75,000
Under the bonnet, the engine (which began life as a standard engine block from a road going Impreza) includes a number of enhancements, which help make it competitive in a WRC car. Once all the modifications to the two-litre flat-four engine are complete, including the fitment of the regulation 34mm inlet restrictor, it's capable of churning out over 300bhp and masses of torque. The total cost of each engine is around £75,000
can I keep the saving
Phil
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