For the first time, Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) will use a hatchback design, incorporating a bold new colour scheme prominently featuring the famous Subaru constellation logo.
Following a successful research, development and testing phase, the Impreza WRC 2008 will be driven by Australia's Chris Atkinson and Norwegian Petter Solberg in the Acropolis Rally starting 29 May.
The Subaru World Rally Team and STi are pleased to announce the launch date of the Impreza WRC2008. The most radically different Subaru World Rally Car in 15 years, the WRC2008 is ready to make its debut on the seventh round of this year’s World Rally Championship, the Acropolis Rally of Greece, from 29 May – 1 June.
The event will be marked by an official launch in Greece on the evening of Wednesday 28 May, prior to the start of the rally.
The new car is based on the latest road going Subaru Impreza which was introduced in June 2007. Although featuring radically new styling the Impreza WRC2008 retains the well proven Subaru horizontally-opposed turbocharged engine combined with Symmetrical All Wheel Drive. The WRC2008 will also sport a dramatic new livery created around the Subaru corporate identity but at the same time preserving the iconic blue identity familiar to rally fans worldwide.
“We are very excited to be able to launch the all-new Impreza WRC2008 ahead of schedule” said David Richards, Subaru World Rally Team principal. “It is testament to the dedication and commitment of the team behind the scenes in the UK and at STi in Japan. Just as the latest Impreza road car represents a new era for Subaru so the WRC2008 represents a new era for all of us at the Subaru World Rally Team and I am confident that we will arrive in Greece able to fight competitively.”
The team’s objective has always been to launch the WRC2008 as soon as the testing confirmed that good steps forward in overall performance had been made. We are confident that introducing the car in Greece will enable the team to be highly competitive in the second half of the season and give Petter and Chris the best opportunity to win in 2008.
A new area of the team’s website has been launched to coincide with the official unveiling, counting down to the actual launch and heralding the team’s new era whilst celebrating the Impreza’s remarkable heritage at the forefront of world rallying. At the time of the official launch on 28 May, the site will be updated with more information on the WRC2008 including facts & figures and interviews with key team personnel.
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