Yahoo Autos The New Subaru WRX Looks Best as a Nürburgring 24-Hour Race Car
There won't be a road-going STI version of the new Subaru WRX, but Subaru Technica International did get its hands on the car. For the Nürburgring 24 Hours, STI built a dedicated race car, and it looks fabulous. Turns out all the WRX needed was a great livery, and lots of race-car aero addenda.
STI has entered the WRX in the SP4T category, which is for turbocharged cars displacing between 2.0 and 2.6 liters, and it's aiming for a class win. The WRX's FA24 2.4-liter flat-four gets tweaks to produce 375 hp and 435 lb-ft of torque, a substantial lift over the standard car's 271 hp and 268 lb-ft. Naturally, the engine pairs with a six-speed sequential gearbox, though unusually for a sports racing car, the WRX retains its all-wheel drive. Nürburgring races, including the 24-hour, allow more than just GT3, GT4, TCR, and TC cars that make up most other endurance-racing grids. So here, you see lots of modified road cars in addition to dedicated race cars.
The SP4T class consists of just three cars this year, the WRX plus two Porsche 718 Caymans. In total, 136 cars will line up for this year's 24-hour race, which runs on the longest Nürburgring configuration, the 15.7-mile complete circuit including the Nordschleife and full GP track.
Subaru has run the 24 14 times since 2008, skipping the 2020 and 2021 rounds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the team retired, so it will be hungry for more this year. The race is held on May 20th and 21st and it should stream free on YouTube.
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