In the most significant collaboration since Lady Gaga and Beyoncé penned a song about the perils of mobile phone ownership, Subaru and Cosworth have combined to create the Cosworth Impreza CS400. Oh. My. Goodness.
The CS400 has 395bhp, will be limited to just 75 cars, and will cost £50,000. All are destined to stay in the UK.
That's a heavy outlay for an Impreza, agreed, but its exclusivity and heritage are greater than a host of cars costing many times as much.
Starting with the Impreza STI's 2.5-litre turbocharged boxer engine, Cosworth wanted to keep physical changes minimal so that the car can be serviced easily enough by Subaru dealers, and it remains reliable. Nonetheless, it gets uprated pistons, high-strength steel con-rods, new head gaskets and a high-pressure oil pump.
The high-boost turbocharger is new too. That, together with a new free-flow exhaust and an ECU remap, gives the car 395bhp at 5,750rpm - 33 percent more than the regular STI. It has a 400lb.ft swell of torque too.
The 0-62mph sprint is demolished in a faintly baffling 3.7 seconds. It will have bounced off its 155mph top speed limiter before you can say, "oh dear, my boneless bucket is all over the passenger foot well." Assuming you're on a track, of course. With a KFC.
The permanent four-wheel drive system, with front and rear limited-slip differentials, splits power 50/50 front to rear.
The gearbox and clutch get an overhaul as well (so much for minimal changes), with a carbon synchromesh and a new linkage for a shorter throw. The ratios are unchanged, but the clutch plate itself is swapped for a better one.
Possibly most significantly, the standard springs and dampers have been ditched for new items co-developed with Eibach and Bilstein. Cosworth claims the CS400 both rides and handles better than the STI as a result, with 'more focussed on-the-limit behaviour' and less body roll through corners. The car sits 10mm lower.
The steering is, we're assured, more laden with feel, though how Cosworth has achieved that beyond the suspension changes is not clear yet.
AP Racing developed the new brakes, whose discs are 355mm and ventilated at the front, clamped by six-pot callipers. The rear discs are stock items.
You can see the visual changes, which include an obviously wider track, twin rear spoilers, Cosworth badges and a menacing matte black paintjob. The black lightweight alloys are 18-inch items and wrapped in Michelin rubber. Inside, the Recaro buckets are trimmed in leather and embossed with the Cosworth logo.
Each car will get a numbered certificate of authenticity. Want one? It goes in sale in June, but you might want to talk to Subaru very quickly...
Mark Nichol - 25 May 2010