Tribute to Group B Rally

Ken Block STI Trek Car

Rally Crash video..

Ken Block's Subaru-based TRAX STI

The World's Fastest Cat Track Operation Automobile!

Fiat rally-spec Abarth 500 R3T

Abarth 500 R3T

Built to Group R3T specifications, turbocharged cars 1.6-liters engine displacement, the rally-prepped 500 packs a 1.4-liter four with a Garret GT 1446 fixed-geometry turbocharger, 180 horsepower and six-speed sequential transmission with twin-plate clutch and a locking differential. 17-inch OZ alloys are mounted to an adjustable suspension and pack Brembo discs all around supplemented by a hydraulic handbrake. Inside, the 500 R3T has been fitted with a full roll cage and FIA-spec racing buckets with six-point harnesses, while dry weight comes in at 1080kg (2380 lbs), the minimum for the category.

VW Beetle with Subaru STI engine

turbocharged 2.5-liter engine making over 350 horsepower yanked from a Subaru WRX STI

really2 insane...

Watch the video below

Russian WRC driver nearly flips Citroen C4 in Finland

The close-but-no-crash incident happened during this past weekend's Rally Finland.



Russian rally driver Evgeny Novikov takes a jump at full tilt and nearly backflips his Citroën C4.

Tiff Needell and actor John Barrowman crash Subaru rally car on Fifth Gear

Richard Hammond's spectacular jet-car crash wasn't enough to convince you of the inherent dangers of filming British television's top car shows, the presenters of Fifth Gear have given us another startling reminder.

Barrowman, who plays a character who cannot be killed on Dr. Who spin-off series Torchwood, was driving the £120,000 rally-spec Subie with Needell riding shotgun when the actor lost control of the car, sending it over the shoulder and flipping several times down the hill before coming to a rest on the shore of a lake. Paramedics arrived at the scene and removed glass shards from Barrowman's eyes before taking both to the hospital with no major injuries.

AUDI QUATTRO RALLY REPLICA

The car is powered by a S4 V8 engine with 344bhp with 6 speed transmission from the same car.

Azev 17" with a set of Porsche calipers and Audi RS4 discs

Inside the interior with extensive rollcage, and the typical black ‘80s seats and dashboard.

Next-gen Subaru WRX STI is privately rendered awesomeness

It's fair to say that Subaru has enjoyed a run of strong product in recent years, as well as an exponential credibility increase in enthusiast's eyes, essentially ever since the automaker began shipping over the Impreza WRX back in 2001. Those considerable achievements aside, it's likewise fair to say that Subaru has yet to well-and-truly crack the aesthetics portion of the modern carbuilding equation, having produced some daring (if ungainly) entries like the origina B9 Tribeca and a series of aggressive yet unpretty Impreza variants. And while we applaud originality, we think the folks at Fuji Heavy Industries could use a consistent design force, a man (or woman) with a mission that's out in the public eye as something of a known quantity. Think: General Motors' Ed Welburn, former Mazda-turned-Tesla wunderkind Franz von Holzhausen, former BMW lightning rod Chris Bangle, etc.

All of this is not to say that the man behind the WRX STI rally car renderings shown here has the answers, but we know one thing: When passing these images around Autoblog's (virtual) offices, we all couldn't help but say something to the effect of: "Oooooh, damn that's hot!" – a phrase we can't remember associating with Subaru, much as we love driving the vehicles themselves. In any case, these images come courtesy of one Lars Martensson (apparently better known on the interwebs by his handle 'GRID)', a man who spends his days crafting 3D renderings for videogames (Rallisport Challenge 2 for xBox, Battlefield 2 for PC). To us, this Swede has a handle on what the STI needs to be: Squat, mean, and purposeful. Okay, so perhaps the cut-down greenhouse wouldn't leave much room for taller folks (much less a helmet), but if one of these were parked in our driveway, well... we'd happily squat a little.

ŠKODA FABIA S2000 RALLY CAR

This is the Škoda Fabia ‘Super 2000’ Rally car.

Running to similar regulations to the World and British Touring Cars, the new Super2000 Rally class allows for some variations including wider bodykit and four wheel drive. This regulations will form the basis of the new World Rally Championship from 2011.

As Škoda is part of Volkswagen Group (Its not called VAG anymore), legendary rally driver, VW’s Carols Sainz has helped with development.

The Škoda team have a limited program in 2009, concentrating on National rallies in Czech Republic and some events in the Intercontinental Rally Championship (IRC) which sometimes runs as part of the World Rally Championship.

The series is competitive with participation from the Czech manufacture, Peugeot, Honda and Fiat. Regular Speedhunters may remember our feature on the JAS Honda Civic in 2008.

The Fabia made its IRC in the Monte Carlo Rally. Finland’s Juho Hanninen was leading IRC car on Day one, although later retired. Team mate, Jan Kopecky finished 4th. The Fabia S2000 first win came in the Norwegian Rally.

Looking further ahead, Francois Duval and co-driver Denis Giraudet will be competing in a Rene Georges run Fabia S2000 on the famous Ypres Rally in June, with help from Škoda Motorsport and their Belgium importer.

Rene Georges have rallied a number of VW products in their time including the VW Polo S2000 and are official partner of VW Motorsport.