ARA
04 Jan 2019
Credit: Scott Speed
Scott Speed has made his first official appearance as a Subaru Rally Team USA driver, showing off his new company car.
The four-time US rallycross champion joined the Vermont Sports Car-led team at the end of the 2018 Americas Rallycross season after five fruitful years with Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross. He’ll team up with Chris Atkinson and Patrik sandell for the upcoming ARX season and Nitro Rallycross events.
Speed’s move to Subaru surprised many, but the former Formula 1 and NASCAR competitor is looking forward to the challenge of bringing success to the Japanese manufacturer.
“I’m excited for the challenge more than anything,” he told me following the announcement of his move to Subaru. “It’s going to be a challenge and I think that’s what I’m most excited about.”
“I’m going to do my job, we’re going to make our car the best it can be and that will be where all the focus is,” he added.“I definitely do think the future is very bright, I’m very encouraged by that.”
“I think that it’s definitely on a good path and that’s very exciting for everyone.”
As part of his new role with Subaru, Speed has been given the keys to a new Subaru WRX STI Type RA. The limited-edition model is no normal WRX STI, if you could even call the rally-inspired saloon ‘normal’. The RA in the name means ‘Record Attempt’, because it commemorates a purpose-built version of the car that lapped the Nürburgring in just 6 minutes, 57.5 seconds in July 2017.
The RA’s 2.5-litre boxer engine puts out 310 bhp (five more than the standard WRX STI), making it about 50 percent as powerful as the car Speed will be racing this year, but it’s nevertheless a potent tool. The 60 mph sprint is handled in just 5.4 seconds, 0.1-seconds quicker than the normal STI, and the top speed is around 155 mph.
To get that power figure the car has had its ECU reworked and gearbox tweaked, along with new intake and exhaust systems. The torque figure for the RA remains at 290 lb-ft, but comes earlier in the power bands according to Subaru. The horses are delivered to the road via a six-speed manual transmission and Subaru’s trademark four-wheel-drive system.
As well as the extra horsepower and mechanical enhancements, the RA adds 19-inch gold BBS wheels, a carbon fibre roof, and a new design for the rear wing which is similar to the one used on Subaru’s rallycross cars in the second half of 2018.
The price for all this track-inspired goodness is around $50,000 in the US (approximately £40,000), representing a premium of about $12,000 on the standard WRX STI. Just 500 RAs will be heading to the US, including this one, so if you want one yourself, you might need to get a move on.
