Subaru Type R

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Subaru Type R

Max Jones

Facebook: @enginetunerltd

Instagram:  @enginetunerltd

Web: Engine Tuner ltd

Performance Stats: 840hp and 700lbft on the car’s highest settings.  At 1,330kg, the power-to-weight ratio of 630hp per tonne is the same as a McLaren P1 hypercar. 

The Type R is a 1996 WRX STI Japan-only model, the first generation of a two-door coupe Impreza.  This was the car that would later force Subaru UK to commission Prodrive to create the Peter Stevens-designed P1 in 2000, an attempt to put a stop to all of the grey import Type Rs that were coming into the UK.

This particular car was built to order by Plymouth-based Enginetuner for a customer who wanted to transfer his 600hp engine and drivetrain over from a newer generation of Impreza.  Intended for the track, he wanted to take advantage of the Type R’s lightweight chassis and stiffer body shell. 

Engine tuner sourced the car for him and arranged for a full underbody restoration and respray, before fitting a roll cage and bucket seats that would be essential for the track.  All of the engine, drivetrain, brakes and electronics were then transplanted from the old car into the Type R. 

After selling the car to Enginetuner’s new MD in 2020, we have carried out a series of further upgrades including bigger brakes, a new fuel system, a digital dashboard and the very latest in turbocharger technology from Xona Rotor.  The result is 840hp and 700lbft on the car’s highest settings.  At 1,330kg, the power-to-weight ratio of 630hp per tonne is the same as a McLaren P1 hypercar. 

The Type R’s prodigious performance belies the fact that the car remains a pussycat to drive.  The clutch is easy to use, the brakes are progressive and the ride and damping are first-rate.  Very high-power cars are quite often intimidating to drive, but not the Type R, and deliberately so.  Engine tuners are firm believers that high-performance cars do not have to come with compromises that can make them difficult, or just plain unpleasant, to drive.

At the centre of this creation is an EJ22 engine, the ultra-strong 2.2L unit that Subaru used for the widebody 22B.  Fitted to this are forged pistons and conrods and a crankshaft from a 2.5L engine, increasing the capacity of the motor to 2.35L from a longer stroke.  Cylinder heads made by Cosworth, uprated camshafts and bigger valves take full advantage of Subaru’s version of variable valve timing, AVCS. 

Twin-uprated pumps supply fuel to eight injectors.  These are staged so that a smaller set handle gentle driving and a larger set provide additional fuel under heavier loads.  The result is a car that remains very user-friendly to drive in ordinary conditions.  All of the engine’s electronics are controlled by a Syvecs ECU that offers launch control, an anti-lag system and switchable settings for different fuels and boost levels.

The Type R also benefits from a six-speed gearbox fitted with a Quaife limited-slip differential.  Stopping the car are Alcon brakes and keeping it on the road are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres fitted to the same iconic gold Speedline wheels used by its WRC car cousin in the 1990s.

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Having worked on them for more than 25 years, the Type R is the culmination of everything Enginetuner knows about the Impreza platform.  We are delighted to offer our customers the chance to own their own version of the Type R, built to their own tastes and requirements.  For example, a customer may not need or want a car with more than 800hp or require a roll cage. 

They may want the car a different colour, to have a leather interior or a sequential gearbox.  Anything is possible.  And with a newly opened second workshop in Brighton, Enginetuner can also carry out any restoration work to the shell before painting and fitting all the new hardware.  Depending on the precise requirements of the customer, Enginetuner can build essentially the same specification of the car from around £45,000 excluding the cost of the car itself. 

The Enginetuner Type R will stay safely in the custody of Rob, Enginetuner’s MD.  It will see service later this year at the Nurburgring as part of an event organised by the Enginetuner Drivers Club.  It will also attend a number of shows and events and Rob is hatching a plan to attempt a 9-second quarter-mile pass at Santa Pod. 

Alongside Enginetuner’s other demo cars, the Type R can also be demonstrated to prospective customers keen to see what is possible with arguably Subaru’s best-looking and most iconic model.   A car to be driven and enjoyed for years to come, not stored away in a garage for the purposes of investment.

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