Subarus are wildcards, throw in a few mods on an STI, and you are unbeaten on track day. Drop it to the ground, widen it, chop off the mufflers, and you’ve got yourself a head-turner. There’s really no limit to what you can do to this Japanese corner carver. Riccardo Senior of LivingLifeFast reviews a crazy built, 556-HP Subaru Impreza STI hatchback.
Jared’s STI hatchback is unlike any crazy mod STI you’ll see on the street. Like any other mad-built tuner project, it started as a sensible-head five-door family car before changing course into the road-hog it is today.
The first build on this STI wasn’t as successful, and the turbos blew up on the dyno. Inspired by Roger Clark's Motorsport Gobstopper 2, he decided to do a complete, no-stones-unturned build.
Jared’s build comes with a 2.5-liter UK-spec with billeted inserts Subaru engine, nitrated crank, forged piston and rods, ACL bearings, aftermarket ECU, 5x1,000cc injectors, head stud conversion, SC-46 Turbos, parallel fuel rail, and more. It’s a raw car that runs on an all-wheel-drive system with zero traction control and ABS. That combination of mods with a meth mix system puts down 556 HP.
He has modified the turbos three times and now runs them externally gated, with the screamer coming out of the hood. He’s also dropped a bit of weight with a thoroughly gutted interior and full fiberglass body kit swap.
The build also comes with an obnoxious wing designed to correct the effects of the splitters pulling down the car. It’s also running a Whiteline suspension system, with adjustable rear camber and BC Coilovers.
Behind the wheel, this Subaru Impreza STI drives fast! The engine sounds angry, and apart from the in-cabin echos and racket from the gutted interior, it’s phenomenally capable at high speeds. It’s friendly, with a responsive steering wheel, but eats the corners like a mad dog.
Riccardo feels the STI is a bit light driving down the road. On the plus side, it is confidence inspiring, with driving-precision perfection.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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