Car Moon

As previously reported, MINI is eager to get itself into the World Rally Car Championships with its Countryman crossover and reclaim some of the rallying glory its predecessor / inspiration had in the 1960s. And today, the British automaker released the first official picture of the Countryman WRC, which partner Prodrive has been busy testing at their Warwickshire proving grounds in rural England.

After a long break, MINI is making a comeback in the world of rallying starting from next season with a Prodrive built and developed Countryman crossover. The BMW Group said that MINI, whose Cooper model won the Monte Carlo Rally three times in the 1960s, was planning its racing involvement "for several years".

The Countryman WRC complies with the new Super2000 regulations and will be powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from BMW Motorsport and have an all-wheel drive system. Prodrive, which ran Subaru's world championship-winning team until the Japanese automaker pulled out at the end of 2008, has been working on the development of the car since early 2009.

The first and only Subaru road car to bear the Prodrive name, the Impreza P1 coupe, is ten this year. To commemorate the event, 100 owners of the Impreza P1 made their way to Prodrive's headquarters at Banbury on Sunday 9 May. They were joined by some 300 owners of various Subaru Imprezas and more than 1,000 fans of the brand.

Considered by many as one of the most sought after limited edition Imprezas, the P1 was developed as a joint venture between Subaru UK, the Japanese firm's STI division and Prodrive, which was responsible for the automaker's WRC cars.

Based on the Japanese market Impreza Coupe, the P1 had significant enhancements engineered by Prodrive to the suspension, drivetrain, trim and aerodynamics.

Longtime Subaru specialist, Prodrive, has unveiled the Impreza N2010 rally car that complies with the Group N regulations. The five-door hathcback comes with a bevy of mechanical and chassis upgrades including a larger 33mm air restrictor, high flow fuel injectors and recalibrated ECU that help increase the 2.0-liter boxer engine's output by 20 horsepower and strengthened suspension that employs revised Ohlins dampers with extra travel front and rear.

UK Subaru-enthusiasts will be happy to know that the Japanese firm's former rally-car partner, Prodrive, will participate in the 2009 Scooby Sprint Championship with a Prodrive Impreza WRC2008 World Rally Car. The Scooby Sprint is a one-make series for Subarus in the UK that allows private road car owners to compete against the clock as well as with some of the fastest and most modified Subaru cars around.

To get an idea, according to the organizers, the WRC2008 Impreza will not be the most powerful car to run in the Scooby Sprint as there are entries running more than 800-horsepower! Prodrive will enter the five-round competition as a 2009 Constructor Team.

Steve Smith, Prodrive car sales manager, said: "We are fully aware that there are some very highly tuned Imprezas out there and we know every one of them will be aiming to beat us. But let's be clear, we are not coming along for the ride."

Kuwaiti investment firm, The Investment Dar Company (TID) has acquired a 40% stake in Prodrive, a UK-based engineering company with branches in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. The move comes to no surprise as in 2007, Prodrive founder and chairman David Richards led a consortium which saw TID get hold of Aston Martin from FoMoCo and Richards become chairman of the company. As part of the agreement between the two firms, David Richards will remain the majority shareholder in Prodrive and Mahmoud Samy from TID will join the board of the company.

"We have followed Prodrive's success through the Subaru and Aston Martin motorsport programs and seen the commitment and dedication of all the employees in every aspect of the business," said Mahmoud Samy. "Prodrive has a great heritage and David has a clear vision for growing the business. We look forward to working closely with David and his management team to realize their goals," he added.

David Richards said: "Through Aston Martin, I have worked closely with TID for the last two years. As a result TID has also gained a great insight into Prodrive's expertise and our culture. They very much share our vision for the business and the passion for what we do. With their experience and understanding of the motor industry, they will play a significant role in the long term development of the business."

Automotive tech is now finding its way to the world’s oldest form of transportation which is none other than the horse. British motorsport specialist, Prodrive which is well known for its Subaru products has designed a lightweight horse racing stirrup made from carbon fibre. The high-tech stirrups weigh just 40 grams, half the weight of standard aluminium racing stirrups. On top of being lighter, the carbon fibre stirrups are also stronger as they have a safe working load of 600 kg and in tests have withstood a load of 1.8 tonnes before complete failure. -Continued

“Today’s horse racing is like motor racing: weight is critical,” said Prodrive senior composites engineer, Roger Walker. “Every ounce the jockeys can save represents thousandths of a second off the finishing time, which can be the difference between winning and losing by a nose. Jockeys even wear lightweight tights to save weight.”

(Picture edited by CarScoop)

Subaru is broadening its Impreza WRX offerings with the introduction of the Prodrive developed “S” model at the British Motor Show. Thanks to the re-programmed ECU (electronic control unit) and the modified exhaust system, the 2.5-liter turbocharged boxer engine’s output is raised from 230 PS at 5,200 rpm to 255 PS at 5,400 rpm while the torque improvement is even greater, growing from 236 lb.ft at 2,800 rpm to 287.6 at 3,000 rpm. According to Subaru, while the WRX-S’ top speed remains at 130 mph (209 km/h), 0-60 mph (96 km/h) time drops from 6.1 to 5.5 sec. -Continued

Engine-aside, the new Impreza WRX-S also features 18-inch anthracite GT1 alloy wheels with 225/40 tires, an STI front grille, STI front lip spoiler and STI rear wing and body-colour tailgate moulding. Furthermore, the WRX-S gets a MOMO ‘Air-Race’ gearknob while the colour choice is between San Remo Red, WR Blue Mica, Obsidian Black Pearl and Satin White Pearl. In the U.K., the new Impreza WRX-S is priced from £22,495 OTR offering £4,500 worth of extras over the WRX for a £2,500 premium.