When it comes to cars, the debate that concerns bought versus built is one that will likely never end. Whether we’re talking about people who love project cars or just fanboys who will bring up an insanely tuned version of their favorite car saying it’s faster than some exotic, this dispute is here to stay.
No matter which side of the fence people are on this, what we can all do is admit that, with enough money, any car can become seriously fast. Well, the guys behind the Driven Media YouTube channel set up to prove just that.
And they did so in one of the most unequivocal ways, pitting a Lamborghini Murcielago against an old, second-hand Subaru WRX Wagon, which they proceeded to modify. The entire transition from an old beater to a track toy cost the team just a hair over £9,000 ($11,000 / €10,300), including the price of the car itself.
The improvements made to the car consisted of an upgraded clutch, a set of coil overs, stiffer anti-roll bars, upgraded brakes, and pushing the engine from 196 hp (199 ps) to 304 hp (308 ps). Semi-slick tires and stripping out the interior to the tune of 300 pounds (136kg) rounded up the process, and the car was ready for the test.
The gorgeous Italian raging bull got the courtesy of going out on the track first. It did so with 632 hp (640 ps) and 486 lb. ft. (660 Nm) of torque going to all four wheels via the rather famous automated manual transmission that Lamborghini was so fond of at the time.
The Murci managed a time of 1 minute and 24 seconds, 8 full seconds slower than what it achieved when it was tested in the summer. Still, the bar was set quite high for the Subaru. Surprisingly, the yellow lemon of a car managed to smash out of the ballpark, going just shy of 3 seconds faster than the Lamborghini.
While this is by no means a reason to ditch an exotic car for a modified beater, it does go to show anything can be made fast. What’s more, it clearly proves that track cars can be cheap and provide tons of fun.
As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited. Full profile
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