Subaru Just Built ‘The Fastest, Quickest WRX Ever’

Subaru is heading to the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​with a WRX like no other. This very black car is aptly called Project Midnight, a nod to its full carbon fiber body that significantly reduces weight. Paired with a significant increase in power under the hood, Subaru claims this is the fastest and quickest WRX race car Subaru Motorsports USA has ever built.

Let’s start with the engine. It’s a 2.0-liter flat-four derived from the company’s rallycross team, but this one makes 670 horsepower and 680 pound-feet of torque. The turbocharged/intercooled engine revs to 9,500 rpm, spinning all four wheels like a WRX should. It rides on a chassis that’s been lightened for racing, so the car weighs 2,469 pounds. That’s about 1,000 pounds less than a stock WRX.

Subaru

Subaru

Subaru

The carbon fiber body also features all sorts of aerodynamic upgrades. The fascia features winglets and a massive front spoiler, blending into aggressively flared wheel arches for a wide-body look. The rear wing is a heavily modified version of the one used on Subaru USA’s rally car. It rides on a custom suspension tuned specifically for tarmac and uses 18-inch wheels with slick tires for grip.

If this car sounds remotely familiar, you’re probably having flashbacks to Subaru’s 2020 Gymkhana video with Travis Pastrana. The Vermont SportsCar team took inspiration from it for Project Midnight, but this one isn’t designed to take to the air. With rallycross champion and former F1 driver Scott Speed ​​behind the wheel, Subaru will be sending it up the hill at Goodwood and chasing other unspecified records in the months to come.

“Subaru Motorsports USA and the Vermont SportsCar team have delivered an absolute beast,” said Speed. “Behind the wheel, the car clearly has rallycross roots, but the wider tires, track and geometry give it a unique feel and incredible grip. The ultimate driving machine; part RX, part sports car – a real blast to drive.”

Project Midnight will make its official in-person debut on July 11 at Goodwood.