Renner Motorsport cut its teeth in the Volkswagen road racing world, but a look deeper into its ancestry will show that this family affair is rally based. Renner's Ivo and Peter Toutchenchki are not the first enthusiasts in the family to be bathed in dirt, as both their parents were tried-and-true rally racers. In 1994, mom and dad won the European Rally Championship in a Group A Ford Escort RS. Peter, the younger of the two brothers, was 1997 the European Hill Climb Champion.
So, when the brothers Toutchenchki came to the States, it was only natural to open a shop and start tuning cars. Early on, Renner Motorsport raced VWs, with Scirocco's being their weapon of choice. As the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi EVO became available in the U.S., it was a natural progression for Renner Motorsport to embrace these rally based performance juggernauts.
"We now have many years of experience with the all-wheel-drive-turbo platforms, both in Europe and here in Los Angeles," said Ivo. "We began in 1998 with the Subaru 2.5RS, and now are working on the '08 STI and the all-new EVO X."
They stayed with the Sirocco track cars until 2006, when they decided to build up two early, lighter weight Subaru Imprezas using later model 2.5L turbocharged STI drivetrains. The idea was to have track cars that were also daily drivers. Not really did not thinking about any specific competition or racing program; the brother's motivation was to replace their, then 10-year-old, track cars. Best of all, with the laptop-tunable Subaru ECU, the guys could simply re-program the engine for 91-octane and drive them everyday.
One of these STI-infused Subies, Peter's World Rally Blue '96 Impreza L, with a trick 22B wide-body kit enhancing its silhouette, caught our attention and landed in the USCC.
Peter's car features a complete 2.5L STI engine, all the necessary wiring, drivetrain hard parts, and even the updated STI interior, all fitted in the L. "Through the swap the L got some of the STI's well known tricks, like the hard rubber bushing kit, a mouse trap-type anti-surge, high-volume fuel pump, and 2.2-turn lock-to-lock quick steering rack. Most important was the fact that we retained the traction control and anti-yaw features of the STI in the Impreza L's 400-pound lighter shell. So, we also updated the technology of the car on a software basis as well.
"This Subie is light years beyond a stock swap. The engine was modified with larger injectors, front-mount intercooler, and a huge turbocharger. "The power is around 460 whp," said Ivo.
But perhaps the biggest advantage to this wide-body car is with the tires. Renowned as one of the greatest Imprezas of all time, the original 22B was a limited-edition special with a widened body, bigger tires, and 2.2L engine, among other tricks. The 22B fender kit applied to this Impreza permits the use of wider 255/40/17 tires. The added rubber combines with the STI-transferred traction control to let the car come off corners much harder than expected.
The Renner team will get little rest, much less racing, in the days prior to the USCC, as they plan to also add a methanol injection system to pull 500-plus whp from the boxer engine.
This remarkable Impreza makes dead reliable power, funnels it through an all-wheel-drive powertrain, and does it all inside the lightest Impreza generation to have ever been sold in the U.S. Is this the formula for success? Will someone else do it better? We'll know soon enough.