Stop.

Scrolling.

We made you a WRX video.

It's Sunday and you're driving your mom home from a nice ass brunch in your STI.

You pass another WRX going the opposite direction.

He waves.

You wave.

Your mom is like...

“Do you know that young gentleman, honey?"

Yeah

I kinda do.

Little does your mom know, that you're part of another family.

You're part of the Subie Nation baby. A nation birthed in the mountains of sweden

and the planes of Africa. One nation, under god….Colin be thy name. And your mom looks

at you and she's just like…”You passed our exit.” Pffff...parents just don't understand.

(Laughing)

This is everything you need to know to get Up to Speed on the Subaru WRX.

Inhales.

Coughs.

(8-bit music plays)

At its inception in the 1950s, Subaru focused on building small “People's Cars” with

an emphasis on suiting the needs of Post-War Japan. In the early 80s, they decided to expand

their global image through motorsports, and their sport of choice--RALLY. It's a sport

so bad-ass that you can't even do it alone. You need a sidekick. You need a navigator.

Like Han Solo and Chewy in the Millenium Falcon.

But you are not in a galaxy far far away.

You are in the f***ing woods.

You got dirt, you got snow, you got real ass roads.

And there is a chance that you might crash into a tree.

Or a f***ing person!

When you think of basketball

You think of the Yankees.

When you think of Rally you think Subaru.

But from 1980 to 1990, they were sorta the MIghty Ducks before Gordon Bombay Showed up.

They literally only had one podium finish.

In 1987, some dude named Possum Bourne got third at Rally New Zealand.

Possum Bourne, Jason's dad.

But, in the early 90s, the gears started turning and Subaru started winning. They signed Colin McRae.

Ever heard of him? And halfway through the 1993 season they ditched the bigger Legacy

and debuted the Impreza.

The team was sponsored by State Express 555 tobacco, and wore the brand's colors of

gold and blue. McRae and Ari Vatanen drove their new WRXs to place Subaru fifth in the

team championship. Not bad! While the partnership between State Express and Subaru eventually ended.

The WRX will forever be associated with that color scheme.

The Impreza was a shortened version of the Legacy formula, a recipe of which all WRXs are based on to this day.

Four doors, all wheel drive, and a flat four Boxer engine.

The Impreza went on sale in Japan in 1992, and Subaru offered a special package for their

home market. Buyers had the option of a turbocharged model called the WRX.

Or

World

Rally

eXperimental.

Get it?

Alongside that, the Japanese could also get the WRX RA, which was even more hardcore.

It had no power windows, no A/C, and no anti-lock brakes. . The states got the Impreza

a year later, but we didn't get the WRX… so...fuck us right?

1994 was a big year for Subaru and the Impreza. It marked the first year Subaru participated

in every round of the World Rally Championship, and they introduced an even better WRX.

The STI. It had carbon fiber strut tower braces, a better intercooler, and forged pistons.

The STi also has some funky looking pink badges on it. In Japan, Pink is associated with Cherry blossoms

which symbolize a time of renewal and the fleeting of natural life.

Well let's put it on a racecar!

Subaru won the WRC title in 1995 because Toyota was caught cheating. Colin McRae won

his first WRC title that year, and Subaru went on to win two more consecutive championships.

To celebrate the hat trick, they introduced the mother of all STI's, the Impreza 22B.

It came with a functional hood scoop, flared fenders, fog light covers, a massive AND functional

rear wing, and of course, gold wheels. The 22B was truly a rally car for the street,

and Subaru only made 424 of them. I would do terrible things for one of these, unimaginable things.

After ten years of holding out on us Americans, Subaru finally gave us the WRX in 2002, and

it changed the entire landscape of the American auto industry. Not only did it become one

of the most popular cars in tuner culture, it proved to every car company that there

was a market for fun, affordable--i.e. Turbo cars in America. Look at the options in the

American market before the WRX.

An Eclipse.

We spent the 90's wondering why Japan didn't

send the best they had to offer to the states and with the WRX we finally got it.

Lancer Evo, Focus RS, Golf R, and just this year finally the Civic Type R.

None of these would be available if it weren't for the WRX.

The New Age Impreza or “Bug Eye”, made 227 horsepower and had comparable performance

to the Audi S4 and BMW 3-Series. Which Subaru made a big deal about in their advertising

for the WRX. Of all the Impreza's it's the cutest, and it's one of the best looking wagons ever.

In 2004 they gave the bug eye a facelift and America got the STI, this time powered by

Subaru's EJ25 two and a half liter engine. The turbocharger made 14 and a half pounds

of boost and pushed the engine to 300 horsepower. The exterior was designed by Peter Stevens,

who was responsible for the Lotus Espirit and McLaren F1.

His resume is almost as impressive as mine.

Huuh.

The WRX got another refresh in 2006 with the release of the new “hawk eye” models.

OR as I like to call them the pig nose WRX. For some reason, in 2005 and 2006 the WRX

was also offered as a SAAB in the form of the 9-2X Aero. It's essentially the same

car but had different sheet metal and only offered as a wagon.

The next Impreza, released in 2008 got another redesign, and this time around it was less

edgy than previous cars. Subaru wanted the Impreza to be a little more similar to the

mainstream competition like the Mazda 3. The new WRX had softer suspension and less aggressive looks.

Also, the STI was only offered as a hatchback, and fans weren't happy about it.

Honestly, if I were to get an STI it would be this one. I think it looks awesome.

Subaru admitted that they went too far trying to gain mainstream appeal with the WRX and upgraded

the next's year model with new suspension and 265 horsepower.

At least you admit you are wrong.

In 2011, a little company called Cosworth got their hands on the STI, and they did something magical.

They gave it 365 horsepower and 380 pound feet of torque. It did 0-60 in 3.7 seconds,

and had brakes so good, that you had to duct-tape around your eyes to keep them in the sockets

when you stopped. The Cosworth CS400 was a monster. Unfortunately only 75 were only produced.

So I guess quality over quantity.

Subaru continued to make the hatchback WRX until 2014, when they debuted their newest

sedan design. Some fans say it's way too tame for the WRX's heritage, while other

people argue that the old ones were ugly anyway and this is a step in the right direction.

Whatever your opinion is, it's a good car.

The 2015 model got a new twin scroll turbo making 268 horsepower, and a six speed gearbox.

Subaru proved its potential the next year by taking a modified 600 horsepower STI to the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man is one of the most batshit races on earth.

The drivers and motorcycle guys fly around the island's 37 mile course. It's freakin nuts.

The psycho Subie did it in just under 18 minutes, setting a new world record.

Despite the WRX's frequent design changes through the years, one thing remains apparent:

It's just fucking cool. It made it acceptable to offer hood scoops. Big wings. And noisy

brakes from the factory. They brought companies down to our level. They listened. And sometimes

that's all it takes to make a huge impact.

Dad.

The WRX has earned such a devoted following because it strikes a unique balance between

niche focus and wide appeal. It attracts a driver who wants something a little funky

but familiar, ostentatious but accomplished. You want a rally inspired ride Colin McRae

would feel right at home in? No problem. Wanna slam it to the ground and rule the car meet

vape boy? Go right ahead. You can go as crazy as you want to because at the end of the day,

the WRX can back it up. It's a really great car.

Even if your mom doesn't get it.

Hey guys what's up, it's your boy James Pumphrey.

We get a lot of messages asking "Hey how do I work for Donut?"

And that's awesome because we are always lookng for new people.

We need editors, writers, business-dev people. Guys who know about data. Graphic designers.

Animators, Illustrators.

You might be thinking "Ugh I really like doing those things, but I don't know if my skills are quite up to par."

I've been there but luckily there is a little thing called Skillshare.

Skillshare is an online learning community with over 16,000 pro AF and easy to understand classes in film

writing, design, illustrating. It's all the jobs that we need here at Donut and it will teach you how to be good at 'em

For example this class by Wild Rabbit Productions. They will teach you how to fly a freakin drone.

People need drone operators

and these Skillshare classes can show you how to do it without crashing a million drones.

I'm not just pushing this on you guys. I freakin use it. I'm learning how to make logos right now.

All you have to do is click the link below. The first 300 people will get a free 2 month trial to Skillshare.

You know how much cool stuff you can learn in 2 months?

You can start your own freakin channel and then we'd be enemies!

Just do it. Click the link. Get skilled with Skillshare.

I freakin dare you dude.

I dare you to come work with us.