What's the news?

As the last few stragglers depart Le Mans, attention turns to Germany, where the Nürburgring 24 hours takes place this coming weekend. Subaru has confirmed that it will be in attendance to race the WRX STI, but it's not going to have the track to itself!

In fact, the WRX STI NBR race cars will be joined on track on June 19th but around 200 other cars, with the top class populated by the likes of the Audi R8 GTS LMS and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG race cars. Presumably, Subaru won't be pushing for an outright win against monsters like that, but equally so, it could upset more than a few apple carts.

The 340hp racing versions (Subaru has dropped the old Impreza name for Europe but that's basically what this car is) are based heavily on the road-going model, with only a few modifications to make them track-worthy, a fact Subaru us keen to emphasise. "By venturing to participate with a racing car developed from a mass-produced model, Subaru will demonstrate that AWD (All-Wheel drive) sports performance of the all-new WRX STI is fully provided even on the Nürburgring circuit known as the ultimate public road" said a Subaru spokesperson.

Anything else?

This isn't the first time Subaru has competed in the 'Ring 24hrs. It won its class back in 2012.

Neil Briscoe - 16 Jun 2014