With Kiwi Richie Stanaway behind the wheel, a Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Special set a new lap record for a four-door saloon at the 20.81km Nürburgring Nordschleife race track, achieving a time of 6:57.5.
The time was achieved using the Nürburgring timing equipment and was officially verified by track officials.
The WRX STI Type RA NBR Special was designed by Subaru of America to show the capabilities of the WRX STI saloon and all-wheel drive.
Equipped with a rally spec 2.0-litre Boxer engine and Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, this car has set lap records at the Isle of Man TT, the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb (where it was also 3rd fastest overall) and now it has conquered the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The WRX STI Type RA NBR Special is a custom-built race car built by Prodrive using a standard 2017 WRX STI with a full roll cage welded into the standard WRX STI body for added strength and stiffness.
It has a modified 2.0-litre Subaru WRC-spec boxer engine with a 75-mm intake, and the turbo runs at 25 psi of boost. This produces more than 600hp (over 447kW) at 8,500 rpm. Prodrive calculated the top speed at the ’Ring would be 288km/h at 8,500 rpm in top gear.
The car has 9-inch-wide slick tires all around. It uses a WRC gearbox with an automatic clutch, modified with hydraulics for paddle-shift operation. Shift times are some of the fastest at 20 to 25 milliseconds.
A redesigned aero-package, different than last year’s TT car set up, delivers improved handling and top speed on the NBR Special.
At top speed, the whole package produces about 295kg of downforce. The design includes a Drag Reduction System rear wing similar to the technology found in Formula 1 cars.
With its combined electric and hydraulic operation, the wing can deploy for full downforce/drag under braking or in fast turns and then open for less downforce/drag on long straights. The driver has full control of the DRS via a steering wheel mounted control taking less than 20 milliseconds to change position fully.
