- Quickest and fastest WRX race car to date from Subaru
Motorsports USA
- Piloted by ex-F1 driver and rallycross champion Scott Speed
- 670 horsepower turbocharged BOXER engine and all-wheel
drive
- Lightweight tarmac special weighs 2,469 lbs.
WEST
SUSSEX, England, July 9, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Subaru Motorsports USA today officially revealed "Project
Midnight," the quickest and fastest ever WRX making its debut
July 11-14 at the 2024 Goodwood
Festival of Speed. Born from the success of the record-breaking
"Airslayer" Gymkhana car, Project Midnight takes things to a new
level with a singular directive: outright speed. The lightweight
widebody machine inherits a legacy of rallycross dominance, now
evolved to break records and push the performance envelope of the
platform.
Project Midnight's progenitor – Airslayer – was based on a 2020
Subaru WRX STI and starred in the viral video Gymkhana 2020,
performing wild stunts, including a 230-foot jump where its active
rear wing controlled the car's airborne attitude. While Airslayer
did break records at timed events like the iconic Mt. Washington
Hillclimb and Car & Driver Magazine's Lightning
Lap, its real mission as a Gymkhana star meant it was built to
be the jack of many trades. So the question arose: What if it was
reimagined in the form of the current WRX with a singular focus on
pure tarmac speed? And what if it were piloted by Scott Speed – a Subaru Motorsports USA driver with a star background in
everything from F1 to rallycross?
Project Midnight features ultra-wide aerodynamic bodywork and a
radically enlarged version of the wing found on the team's WRX
ARA24 gravel rally car. The carbon fiber body and a significantly
lightened chassis give it a curb weight of well under 2,500 pounds
– nearly 300 pounds lighter than the Airslayer and 1,000 pounds
lighter than a standard WRX! Project Midnight uses specially
derived tarmac suspension geometry and swaps Airslayer's
17-inch rallycross wheel and tire package in favor of 18x11-inch OZ
Racing Superturismo LMP magnesium wheels and 280/650R18 Yokohama
ADVAN slicks.
Under the hood, a turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter
flat-four engine produces 670 hp and 680 lb-ft of torque, revving
to 9,500 rpm and spitting flames from its hood-exit exhaust. The
powerplant is the most recent and top-performing evolution of
Subaru Motorsports USA's highly
successful rallycross engine that helped Scott Speed earn Subaru the Nitro Rallycross
Teams Championship in 2021.
"Subaru Motorsports USA and the
team at Vermont SportsCar have delivered an absolute beast. When
driving the car it clearly has rallycross roots, but the wider
tires, track, and geometry give it a very unique feel and
incredible grip. The ultimate driving machine; half RX, half sports
car – a true joy to drive," said Speed.
As he did in rallycross, Speed will help develop Project Midnight
as the duo take on new challenges and set new records. Follow them
through those adventures and stay tuned to Subaru Motorsports
USA on Facebook, on
Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, and
TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa for more!
About Subaru Motorsports USA
Subaru Motorsports USA is directed by Subaru of America,
Inc., managed by Vermont SportsCar and proudly supported
by MOTUL, Yokohama Tires, R53
Suspension, Triple-R Lights, DirtFish Rally
School, Sparco USA, weBoost and Peplink. Follow
the team online at www.subaru.com/motorsports.
Follow Subaru Motorsports USA
on Facebook, on Instagram @subarumotorsportsusa, and on
TikTok @subarumotorsportsusa.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America,
Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary
of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office
in Camden, N.J., the company
markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories
through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are
manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana
Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing
plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National
Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's
vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its
communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA
and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares
about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours.
As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in
making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing
to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
James
Tate
Motorsports Marketing
Manager
Subaru of America,
Inc.
(856)
488-8622
jtate@subaru.com
Dominick Infante
Director, Corporate
Communications
Subaru of America, Inc.
(856) 488-8615
dinfante@subaru.com
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SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.