Watch Subaru's STI race car pick up a Nürburgring lap record
Running the 'Ring in under 7 minutes is no joke.
The first time Subaru tried to break a Nürburgring lap record with its WRX STI Type RA NBR Special race car, it started raining. The second time, the weather was perfect, and so was the car's run down the 12.8-mile track.
Subaru's STI race car (I'm not writing that whole name out every time) picked up the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for a four-door sedan with a time of 6 minutes, 57.5 seconds. The same car also holds a lap record at the Isle of Man TT, and it was the third fastest car up the hill at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed hillclimb. Goodness.
Pushing 25 psi of turbo boost through a modified, rally-spec, 2.0-liter H4, the STI NBR Special puts out more than 600 horsepower, and it managed a top speed of 179 mph on the 'Ring's long straightaway. At top speed, it produces 650 pounds of downforce, and its rally-spec transmission shifts gears in as little as 20 milliseconds. It's a hell of a car.
There's a road-legal analog, too, but it's nowhere near that insane. The 2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA sports a carbon fiber roof, no spare tire, a carbon fiber wing and BBS alloy wheels. It's lighter, and thanks to suspension and engine upgrades, it's stiffer and faster than the traditional STI, as well.
