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Subaru STI 30th Anniversary: A Look Back in its Rich History

30 years ago, on April 2, Subaru Corporation opened its motorsports and performance division, the Subaru Tecnica International. Through the decades, Subaru STI has gone through recognizable milestones, including three World Rally Championships and four class wins at the Nürburgring. Let’s not forget to mention that it has released some of the cars that many people across the world have loved for years. So, before you buy Subaru cars online, let us look back at the three fruitful and wonderful decades that STI has shown us.

Involvement in Rally Racing

Even before people started to buy Subaru cars from the STI division, the company has been involved in rally car racing. In 1972, Subaru entered a GL in the Southern Cross Rally in Australia. However, it was only in 1989 when Subaru raced STI’s first car, the Legacy RS RA which can render 220 hp. During the same year, the Legacy Turbo even broke an FIA World Speed Endurance Record. It averaged at 138 mph and drove over the course of 20 miles for 62,000 miles.

In 1993, Subaru entered the World Rally Championship and signed racer Colin McRae from Scotland to its team. Within the same year, Subaru won its first WRC in New Zealand with McRae driving his Legacy. The following year, STI placed second overall, but in the following years, it took home the title three times. As of this writing, STI has garnered 47 WRC wins and three championships. Moreover, it has fielded several champions, including Peter Solberg, Richard Burns, and Toshihiro Arai.

Endurance Racing and Road Cars

In 2008, Subaru STI decided to try its competence in endurance racing, entering a WRX in 24 hours of the Nürburgring in Germany. Throughout its stint in the SPT3 class, STI has won four times. Race car driver Tommi Makinen even set a new lap record in the Nürburgring for production sedans. He was driving a Subaru WRX STI Spec C when he achieved this amazing feat.

STI also started to work on city cars in the early 1990s. It launched the Legacy STI solely in Japan in 1992. Two years later, it developed the Impreza WRX Type RA STI that has an advanced Driver Controlled Center Differential along with the first WRX STI. After winning three times in a row in a rally championship, STI developed the limited edition 1998 Impreza 22B STI. However, it was only six years after that STI started to export cars to the United States.

Since vehicles developed by STI were starting to gain popularity across the world, Americans were naturally stoked to finally see the 300-hp Impreza WRX STI on their shores. Fleet managers quickly started to buy Subaru cars and were impressed with its performance. The low cost of ownership, undeniable comfort, and capabilities for any type of weather made the Subaru Impreza STI a popular road car in the United States.

Even after two generations, the WRX STI can still compete with other vehicles in its class, especially in terms of handling. Just try driving it on the track and you will understand why so many people love this vehicle. It looks like STI won’t be building a new vehicle in the next few years. However, just by looking at the Viziv Performance STI Concept, you wouldn’t complain about waiting for a while.

Buy Subaru Cars at a More Affordable Cost

If you want a Subaru vehicle but you’re on a tight budget, your best option would be to buy a used car. Here at Carused.jp, we offer a range of Subaru models. Needless to say, you will find one that will suit your needs and budget. With a comprehensive vehicle history report, you can rest easy knowing exactly what you will get once the car is imported to your location.

So, call Carused.jp today and get your used Subaru!

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