Filed under: Motorsports, Subaru, UK, Celebrities
The picture at right was taken a just a day after the rally legend was killed in a tragic helicopter crash near his home in Lanarkshire. Without prompting, rally fans from across the UK drove to Scotland to hold a memorial in the McRaes’ hometown, which quickly filled up with Subarus, most of them WR blue.
One year on, they’ve gotten organized. Next Saturday, August 30, Colin’s dad, Jimmy, will drive his son’s famous 555 Impreza out of Lanark and head for Prodrive’s factory in Banbury, southern England. By the time he reaches Birmingham he will have 700 Subarus in his mirrors forming an all-wheel-drive parade that’s expected to stretch over 10 miles. Then, on Sunday the 31st, another 600 scoobies are set to join the tailback as it heads to Prodrive’s test track in Warwickshire. Yep, that’s 1,300 cars in a 20 -plus-mile snake, powered by 5,200 horizontally opposed cylinders.
Although official entry to the event is now closed, organizers expect even more Subarus to show up on the day. Details of the route can be found at http://www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk/
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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Subaru
Click above to view video after the jump
It’s no secret that running a motorsports team is a lot of work, but probably most of us don’t know how much time and effort it really takes. Just building the race cars can take hundreds of man hours, as evidenced by this stop-motion video created by the U.S. Subaru rally team. Starting with a stock 2008 WRX STI, the team strips the car down to its frame by removing the engine, drivetrain, interior and even the windshield. The complete transformation takes an amazing 800 hours of labor. Knowing that makes us cringe even more when we see one roll end over end. Follow the jump to watch the video.
[Source: Subaru]
Continue reading VIDEO: Time lapse build of Subaru rally car over 800 hours
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Filed under: Subaru, North America, USA
Subaru doesn’t have any hybrids in its line up and its electric car program, based around the R1e, is still in its (seemingly never-ending) infancy, but it does have partial zero-emission vehicles (PZEVs) and , apparently, pogo sticks. In an effort to promote the sale of its PZEV vehicles in Canada, the company offers a website to explore the two options. It’s a close call but we really have to go for the PZEV, if only to avoid any sudden onset of motion sickness.
Although we have our suspicions about whether the car maker is actually a pogo provider, we are certain they make PZEVs. They are already on sale in the US but are mostly sold in California so as to to meet that state’s SULEV (Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle) exhaust emission standard. The provinces of Quebec and British Columbia are said to be wanting to adopt those same standards. Seeing which way the wind is blowing, Subaru is offering the PZEV system as standard in its Legacy model and as an option in the Outback. It doesn’t change the horsepower rating but it does reduce smog-producing emissions by some 90 percent, when compared with the average new car. Same power with cleaner air sounds like a great combination to us and we only wish it was much more widely available since the benefits would be astounding. No pogoing required.
[Source: The Canadian Press / Subaru]
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