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Video: Travis Pastrana kicks off 2010 in grand fashionTravis Pastrana is never one to back down from a death-defying stunt so as you can expect, when he talked about ringing in 2010 by jumping 250 feet into the air on board his Red Bull Subaru WRX STI rally car onto a waiting barge, none of us second-guessed his sanity. After a few botched practice sessions, the time finally came for Pastrana to do his New Year’s jump and as the video of the whole episode will show you, Pastrana surely kicked off 2010 off to a rousing start. Check it out. 2010 Subaru Impreza R205 
Subaru Technica International has followed up the recent assortment of special edition WRX STIs with a high output Impreza with a few well thought out upgrades to create the Impreza R205. Based on the standard vehicle, Subaru’s in house tuners the beefed the car up in preparation to go racing at the Nurburgring 24 hour race back in 2009 and now we will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, the only downside is that there will only be 400 examples of the unrestricted STI. The new R205 is easily recognizable with a zero bling blacked out front grill as well as matching under spoilers front and rear (take a closer look at the back one) with a wing on the top of the hatch to complete the dark theme. WRC fans might recognize the 18 inch Prodrive P1 style wheels housing a massive brake package consisting of 6 piston calipers up front and 4 pots in the rear, all clamping down on a set of slotted oversized rotors. This is definitely a car meant to be tracked. Thanks to some heavy duty equipment including a ball bearing IHI turbocharger, free flowing exhaust and a retuned ECU to keep the pistons in the crank case, new car shoppers can now enjoy what the Japanese automaker Subaru is calling their Road Sport Impreza. The new go fast parts are good for a maximum output of 315 HP and 317 lb-ft of torque. The race tested components ensure that this STI will not only be able to endure the hard city life, but allow its owner to unwind all day long at his or her local racing circuit. Press release after the jump. Full story 2010 Subaru Impreza
The Subaru Impreza is entering the 2010 model year with minor exterior detail changes to grille/headlamp treatments and two new packages: Special Edition Package that includes a power moonroof, fog lights and the All-Weather Package featuring heated front seats, heated exterior mirrors and windshield wiper de-icer.  The Impreza is being offered in two body versions: four-door sedan and five-door hatchback and four distinct output levels: 2.5i 170 hp; 2.5GT 224 hp; WRX 265 hp; and STI 305 hp, with prices starting at $17,495 for the 2.5i version. The 2010 Impreza is being offered with standard aluminum-alloy 16-inch, 12-spoke wheels, a black leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise control buttons and a black leather-wrapped shifter handle, AM/FM stereo that includes a 6-disc in-dash CD changer featuring MP3/WMA audio file capability and an 10-speaker audio system that integrates the SRS Circle Surround system. Full details after the jump. Full story Three-door Subaru WRX STI rendered
Subaru’s WRX STI is definately one of our favorite rides here at Top Speed, however ever since the turbocharged all wheel drive Japanese automaker chose to go with a distinct five door hatchback layout for their flagship performance vehicle we have been yearning for a return to sexy two door bodies with a set of boxed fenders much like the special edition 22B Impreza. It appears that the creative re stylers at Digimods shared our ambition and came up with this sleeker STI. The virtual designers started off by smoothing the rear doors in the digital world before flaring the fenders even more then from factory. Digimods then continued to emphasize the STI’s attitude by fitting a set of large diameter deep dish wheels to go along with the new bodywork and Ferrari style bumper exit exhaust. Stepping into the wilder realm of digital tuning, the boys at Digimods moved the engine behind the driver for better weight distribution, however in order to make it work they have had to feed in tremendous amounts of air to the turbocharged flat four through a variety of scoops on the roof and rear quarter panels with a rather large vent integrated into the hatch. Subaru Impreza WRX STI pulls a semi-truck out of snowy predicamentIf you’ve ever doubted the power that comes from a Subaru, then this video should – at the very least – make a believer out of you. In an ironic twist of fate, a tractor-trailer got stuck on a icy and snowy road, rendering it immobile and, in the process, clogging up traffic and feeling the wrath of some pretty hot-headed drivers behind it. Never fear, semi-truck, you’re savior has arrived! A Subaru WRX STI – a miniscule car compared to that behemoth truck – showed up and pulled the hapless semi out of the road, saving it from the wrath of a lot of angry drivers that got stuck behind it. Normally, in these situations, the shoe should have been on the other foot. But seeing this video has made us rethink our opinions about the WRX STI. It may not be a Superman-esque feat, but it was nevertheless impressive in every which way you look at it. 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition prices announced
The Japanese sport compact maker Subaru has just announced pricing for the 2010 Impreza WRX STI Special Edition that was revealed just a few days ago. With a scheduled production run of only 125 units, this special edition STI will be in high demand when it goes on sale in the spring of 2010 starting at $32,995. What is even better about the Spec C inspired STI is that it will cost $2,000 less than the standard 2010 WRX STI.  Aside from the high performance suspension, the Special Edition differs from the standard WRX STI with a few cost cutting options like a set of halogen headlamps rather than HID units; the 6 CD 10 speaker system turns into a single disc player with 4 speakers; manual air conditioning in place of automatic climate control and side mirrors without integrated signals. However if getting around a track as fast as possible is what you are after it is very unlikely that you will miss any of those creature comforts. Press release after the jump. Full story Subaru at the 2009 SEMA Show
All this talk about new Subaru models is getting us here at Top Speed pretty excited, so much in fact that we just had to show the all wheel drive Japanese automaker’s setup from this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Being the world’s largest aftermarket car show Subaru pulled out all the stops and brought in everything from an SPT display car showing off all of the automaker’s aftermarket offerings to the ultra ridiculous snowmobile on steroids, Ken Block’s latest creation, the STI TRAX complete with carbon fiber sled in tow.  Now those two tuner cars were impressive enough on their own, but when you consider that Subaru also had the infamous white and black Gymkhana car from all those internet videos and the golden boy Travis Pastrana’s number 199 rally car, Subaru showed off every conceivable application that there is for the STI. So no matter whether you are a do it yourselfer, if you have a wild imagination and want to make lots of smoke or if you want to use the Subaru Impreza WRX STI for what we all grew up watching it do; it is nice to see the automaker providing us with four extremely different applications of this very versatile high performance vehicle. Check out the gallery below to see all our snapshots from SEMA. 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition
The all wheel drive Japanese automaker Subaru will come to the Los Angeles Motor Show with a Special Edition version of their turbocharged high performance hot hatch Impreza WRX STI, and unlike their last take on the sport compact with the STI Carbon that was more of a softer luxurious ride, this special edition STI could be too hot to handle. The Scooby will be covered in a unique shade of Aspen White and limited to only 125 units, much like when they offered the STI Limited back in 2007. Aside from the frosty paint job, the Special Edition STI will include a variety of suspension components from the razor sharp WRX STI Spec C model from the Japanese Domestic Market. Not only do you get the track ready STI’s thicker rear sway bar, but the bushings are firmer and the shock and spring package has been significantly stiffened at all four corners.  The Special Edition WRX STI will be about as close as the American market will get to a Spec C from the Japanese automaker as it will also ride on the JDM version’s charcoal colored 18 inch wheels. A while back we had the chance to speak with some of Subaru of America’s representatives and they ensured us that they had seen the errors of their ways when they numbed down the STI into its hatchback only form, but they also promised us that they were going to take steps to make up for it. However if this is any indication of their intentions it is clear that Subaru is skipping the baby steps and taking some pretty significant leaps to return the STI to its performance oriented rally bred heritage. The STI Special Edition will go on sale in the spring of 2010 for $32,995 ($2,000 less than the standard version). Press release after the jump. Full story Silver Bullet Time Attack STi at the 2009 SEMA Show
Remember the Formula One wheel that we found in the Enkei booth at the 2009 SEMA Show, well there was one other item on display that was almost as impressive as a 14 inch wide lightweight wheel that is good for turning in at 200 MPH, one of the most aggressive looking Subaru Impreza WRX STi hatchbacks that we have ever seen. Apparently the car was fully built by Design Craft Fabrication for a former motocross race who wanted to trade in his two stroke bike for an all wheel drive turbocharged flat four cylinder STi. With his initial intentions to rally the new Subaru, the exorbitant costs of campaigning a rally car turned his ambitions towards Time Attack on track ambitions.  Design Craft took every opportunity to develop new parts for the customer vehicle, like a V mount radiator and intercooler set up, a set of custom pistons from J.E. to handle the boost generated by a Garrett GT3582R turbocharger and one of the wildest body kits we have ever seen. However there is one piece of the Time Attack STi puzzle that should seem familiar to you, that is if Subaru hadn’t pulled out of World Rally Championship competition. That is because this STi is wearing a legitimate Prodrive WRC wing on the back, and as far as we know it is the only one in America.
2009 Subaru WRX STI by SPT
The Subaru WRX STI by SPT is a demonstration of what a WRX STI owner can build at home using just the SPT catalog as a source for bolt-on parts. The WRX STI by SPT offers more power along with even sharper handling response, making it the ideal machine for high style street performance or track driving.  It is powered by a 2.5 liter DOHC, 16 valve, turbocharged and intercooled 4-cylinder Subaru Boxer engine with Dual Active Valve Control System. The engine delivers a total of 315 hp @ 6,000 RPM (up from the stock 305) and a peak torque of 290 lb.-ft. @ 4,000 RPM. The concept also features 19 x 8.5-in. Prodrive GT2 wheels finished in Glitter Gold, STI performance springs, an SPT strut tower brace and an SPT lower chassis brace. On the interior there is an SPT boost gauge, a media hub digital music integration system and an auto-dimming mirror. Press release after the jump. Full story | Find us on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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