The overall effect of this WRC-inspired diet is an Impreza that looks very clean and aggressive while weighing in at just 2,945 lbs with Sprongl onboard, and that’s without removing any of the creature comforts like power windows, air conditioning, and reclining STi bucket seats. As Frank said, “Since I’m in the business of building and modifying Subarus, I felt it was time to create the ultimate family hauler, baby seat and all.” And with Sprongl behind the wheel, himself a rally championship-winning driver, you’d better believe this Subie hauls some serious ass whether he’s on his way to work or kicking up dirt on his favorite piece of country road.
Helping keep this Four Star super star shiny side up are some fittingly hardcore rally-spec pieces including 2-way adjustable coilovers with camber-adjustable pillowball mounts from Hot Bits. With an STi front strut tower brace for reduced suspension deflection and 8 degrees of front caster along with -3 degrees of front camber, the ultra-quick steering rack (just 2.1 turns lock-to-lock) allows the pilot to hit his mark with laser precision turn after Michelin-torturing turn. And should Frank misjudge his corner entry speed a little, Rotora 6-piston front calipers and 355mm rotors teamed up with Rotora 4-piston rear calipers and 330mm rotors provide the necessary stopping power to save the day.
Under the lightweight aluminum Prodrive WRC-spec hood there’s a complete JDM Spec-C conversion including the 2-liter version 7 longblock, exhaust manifold and twin-scroll VF 36 ball-bearing turbocharger. This factory blueprinted and balanced masterpiece EJ boxer breathes through a Metallic Motorsports high-flow metal catalytic converter and a 2.5-inch Spec-C exhaust system, with the Four Star crew using their in-house Dyno Dynamics four-wheel dynamometer and an Ecutek to reflash the highly capable stock ECU with their custom fuel and ignition maps. The result of all this Spec-C goodness is an impressive 350whp at 22psi on 94-octane pump gas, an impressive improvement over the stock 320 crank horsepower the Spec-C version 7 motor normally produces. And allowing this bulletproof flat-four to put all its boosted juice to the ground is a version 7 Spec-C transmission with upgraded differentials including a clutch-type rear LSD, competition driveshafts, and version 8 Spec-C a-arms along with version 9 rear lateral links.
The rally legends at Four Star Motorsports know what it takes to build a Subaru with enough star power to say “Hasta la vista, baby!” to the competition. Assemble a drivetrain with the absolute best bits from Subie’s most hardcore Spec-C lineage, convert the body to full Prodrive WRC appearance along with insanely lightweight magnesium Speedline wheels, and underneath it all give it the reflexes of a cat thanks to the Hot Bits coilovers, lightning quick steering rack, and stretched wheelbase. So maybe this whole “star power” thing isn’t so elusive or difficult to pin down after all – apparently all it takes to transform a run-of-the-mill bug-eye Impreza into a street-legal WRC-spec monster is decades of experience building rally championship-winning Subarus, access to some of the most exclusive go-fast parts on the planet, and the technical expertise to put it all together into an all-star package. The Governator may think his Hummer rules off-road, but there’s no doubt that this Flame Red rocket would leave Arnie in the dust down just about any dirt road on the planet. That, my friend, is called Four Star power.