Did you know that in 1990 Subaru attempted to campaign at F1 car? Overall it was a catastrophic failure to compete, but I do give them props for trying. Or props for blasting away a shitload of money is more like it. More than likely this huge expenditure was the result of the Japanese “bubble” economy when the yen was the up and coming world currency in the 1980’s. Anyhow, here are the specs I got off of iwoc.co.uk.
Engine configuration – flat 12
Bore x stroke – 84mm x 52.6mm
Capacity – 3498cc
Compression ratio – 11.5:1
Estimated power – 600bhp @ 12,500rpm
Max rpm – 13,000
Engine weight – 159kg
You know how shitty a EJ25 STI engine sounds, right? Well this must have sounded 3 times shittier! This engine was about 90 hp short of the competition (like Cosworth) and the car was about 300 lbs. heavier that the rest of the field. The car had nothing but problems and never did complete one race. It was always about 20 seconds off the pace – an eternity in road racing. It was retired before the 1990 season was over. Too bad Subaru didn’t succeed with this project. We would probably have a better STI right now if they did. For sure it wouldn’t look like a damn Focus…..