The rather heavy Audi managed an impressive 121 feet and the XS WRX, again a victim of hard tires, did the deed in 125 feet-still three feet better than stock. The EVO VII rally car didn't have much of a chance in this electronically enhanced crowd. It stopped in 133 feet.
Final Thoughts
Putting it all together isn't easy when there's this much data and this many different kinds of drivetrains. However, a few basic observations must be pointed out, beginning with the road course.
In the real world of varying terrain, grip and corners, the EVO's active differentials do wonders for driveability. Their effect is so powerful, in fact, they can give even amateur drivers dangerous levels of confidence. That speed comes only with power, however, as the EVO rally car was clearly off the pace here (this may also be a result of questionable active differentials).
That's not to say similar results can't come from more traditional means. Cobb's autocross-tuned WRX had its way with the dry sections of the track where its three old-school mechanical differentials accomplished a very similar feat. And don't forget about the Skyline and its electronic clutch pack. Had this drivetrain come in a smaller, lighter package it would have easily been on the pace.
On the dragstrip, we learned the method of delivering power to the pavement matters far less than how much power there is to deliver. With all-wheel drive and no electronic trickery, power will eventually find its way to the ground fairly efficiently while going straight.
And finally, there's the question of setup and power. We figured an EVO VII rally car-any EVO VII rally car-would get the job done in most of our tests. Clearly, making the numbers has as much to do with appropriate setup and power as it does with fundamental hardware.
Tune in next time when we will test some other cars. Same bat time, same bat channel.
| ROAD COURSE TIMES |
| Car | Wet split | Dry split | Total lap time |
| Cobb Tuning WRX | 22.62 sec. | 48.97 sec. | 1:11.59 sec. |
| Ziel Motorsport EVO VII | 21.97 sec. | 51.35 sec. | 1:13.32 sec. |
| Motorex R33 Skyline | 22.94 sec. | 50.46 sec. | 1:13.40 sec. |
| HPA Motorsport Audi TT | 23.08 sec. | 51.09 sec. | 1:14.17 sec. |
| XS Engineering WRX | 23.47 sec. | 51.91 sec. | 1:15.38 sec. |
| EVO VII rally car | 24.06 sec. | 53.59 sec. | 1:17.65 sec. |
| LATERAL ACCELERATION (200-FT. DIAMETER SKIDPAD) |
| Cobb Tuning WRX | 1.02g |
| Motorex R33 Skyline | .98g |
| Ziel Motorsports EVO VII | .95g |
| XS Engineering WRX | .88g |
| HPA Motorsports Audi TT | .87g |
| EVO VII rally car | .87g |
Cobb Tuning Subaru WRX
Grip and torque: the two most important traits in any successful autocross car. Not coincidentally, those are the same two targets Cobb Tuning in Salt Lake City, Utah, fixed its sights on when designing and building a car for national-level SCCA autocross and ProSolo competition. Normally, we'd expect bigger wheels and tires and perhaps a turbo designed more for low-end grunt than maximum power, but Cobb, well, Cobb sees things a bit differently.