If you’re a fan of Subaru->ke86 or rally racing in general, you probably know about the 18-year collaboration between Subaru and Prodrive that lasted from 1990 to 2008 and yielded creations like the Prodrive P2 and the 2010 Prodrive Subaru Impreza N2010 WRC. Now, Subaru and Prodrive have teamed up to make a new monster out of a Subaru WRX STI that will be driven by Mark Higgins in an attempt to break the current Isle of Man TT record for cars.

Back in 2010, Higgins ran the 37-mile Isle of Man course in just 19 minutes and 56 seconds, then in 2014 he beat his own record, hitting the stretch in 19 minutes and 15 seconds with a production, U.S.-spec 2015 Subaru WRX STI. This year, Higgins will be driving the purpose-built WRX STI->ke4657 that you see in the photos.

It has been extensively modified and is equipped with a roll cage, an extreme aerodynamic kit, and a large rear spoiler. With any hopes, Higgins will break his previous record and even dip below the 19-minute threshold. His run in 2014 would have been better, but he approached one curve a little too fast, ran out of braking time and had to use the emergency brake to keep from losing control.

This year the Isle of Man TT->ke3446 event will take place between May 28th and June 10th, so we’re definitely looking forward to seeing Higgins behind the wheel of this new WRX. We’re betting that he’ll run the course in 18 minutes and 57 seconds, but what do you think? Will he drop below the 19-minute mark on this run and break his previous record?

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Why it matters

The Isle of Man TT is a motorcycle circuit that takes place every year on closed-down public roadways, so it’s even more interesting to see someone in a car tackle the track, especially in such a short period of time. For the record, the quickest lap time ever established on the track happened last year when John McGuinness complete a lap on his Honda CBR1000RR in just 17:03 with an average speed of 132.701 mph. With that said, it’s pretty astounding that Higgins can do in just over 19 minutes in a car. I am looking forward to seeing what Higgins does this year with this new WRX. It should be an interesting run, and if he can learn from the mistakes made on his last attempt, this WRX will help him usher in yet another record at the Isle of Man TT. What an interesting year it’s shaping up to be.

Subaru WRX STI

Read our full review on the Subaru WRX STI here.