A U T O     B U Z Z

Filling a gaping void left by the absence of the Honda Civic SiR, GM AutoWorld went one step further and unveiled their secret road rally weapon last night.

Under heavy guard and utmost secrecy, the Subaru Impreza WRX lands in the Philippines complete with its 227-bhp 2.0-liter DOHC horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine. Mated to a 5-speed gearbox, the Impreza WRX is capable of matching the likes of the Porsche Boxster, BMW M3 and even the Mercedes-Benz C32 AMG by posting a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds!

The unveiling was done by the general manager for Subaru's Asia Pacific Sales and Marketing Department, Mr. Eiichi Matsumoto and the head of the Impreza development team, Mr. Yaichi Ato at the Heritage Library in Makati City.

Besides the horizontally-opposed engine, the Impreza also boasts of the famed all-wheel drive system with viscous Limited Slip Differential (LSD) that greatly makes the Impreza as fun as it is to drive as it is safe.

The Impreza maintains practicality by having four-doors (not a lot of 227-bhp sedans are made nowadays...discounting the Europeans), a relatively spacious interior and well-appointed specifications.

Standard in the WRX are: MOMO leather steering wheel, leather shift knob, leather hand brake, sports bucket seats, aluminum interior trim and foot pedals, an Alpine 2-DIN stereo cassette with 3-disc in-dash CD changer and 4-speaker system and keyless entry with alarm and immobilizer.

To increase the WRX's performance and handling from the stock Impreza, Subaru has decided to give this car some much needed tweaks including: aluminum hood; L-shaped aluminum lower arms to reinforce the McPherson struts suspension system; improved suspension mounting via the hydroform process; a rear spoiler, large four-caliper vented disc brakes (16-inch at the front, 15-inch at the back); Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and 215 / 45 ZR 17 Bridgestone tires as standard. Of course, for the safety conscious, the WRX comes with dual airbags and 3-point seatbelts for all seating positions!

A full list of the Subaru Impreza WRX's statistics are now available at TheCarChart!

For the moment, GM AutoWorld will bring in the Impreza WRX as a limited vehicle, only allotting 10 vehicles per shipment. Sold for PHP 2,100,000 the first batch of the WRX are all accounted for.

If the success of the Chevrolet Venture is anything to go by, the Impreza WRX will surely be an astounding success especially for the car enthusiast.

[ BUZZ MAIN ]