Subaru's new WRX rally car on stage

Subaru WRX, updated for the 2022 model year, now has a rally version.

The new WRX rally car will debut at the Ojibwe Forest Rally on August 24-25 in the American Rally Association (ARA) Championship, replacing a car built on the previous-generation WRX platform.

Current Subaru factory team driver Brandon Semenak will drive the number 180 car along with co-driver Keaton Williams, who will be joined by Travis Pastrana, who will return to the ARA series in 2024 after a one-year absence.

The WRX rally cars are built by Vermont Sports Car, which has also built previous WRX rally cars for ARA competition, as well as Pastrana's Subaru GL Family Huckster gymkhana and WRX STI Air Slayer car. After the current WRX began sales in the United States, the company spent 18 months designing and testing the rally car for its competition debut

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Fabrication began with the WRX body, which was fully welded and fitted with an FIA/USAC-compliant T45 steel frame. The stock gas tank was replaced with a 21.6-gallon Kevlar fuel tank, and the driver and passengers sit in Sparco racing seats, also designed to meet FIA safety regulations.

The car is designed to comply with ARA Open 4WD regulations, has a large rear wing and wider fenders. These parts are made of carbon fiber, and the entire body is painted in Subaru's traditional WR Blue Pearl rally color with a yellow Subaru star emblem.

The WRX road car is powered by a 2.4-liter turbo engine, but class rules require a 2.0-liter version with an air restrictor and boost limiter. Even with this disadvantage, the race engine makes 320 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. That's 49 hp and 122 lb-ft more than the road car. Power is sent to all four wheels through a close-ratio Sadev six-speed transmission. The rally car's suspension is also upgraded, with R53 suspension springs and shocks, Vermont Sports Car crossmembers, tie rods, and hubs controlling the movement of 15-inch Yokohama Advanced A053 rally tires.

Rallying in the United States is not as popular as it is in other countries, but Subaru believes that the newest ARA rules will attract more participants and in turn increase fan interest. Subaru also sees this as an opportunity to introduce the famous blue-and-yellow WRX rally cars to a new generation,