Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR, the fastest four-door saloon around the Nürburgring with 600 CV

It has not stopped being surprising even though it has become a constant. Setting the fastest lap time over the 20.6 kilometres of the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring has become the benchmark to beat for every vehicle that makes performance one of its main selling points. It is a challenge that is becoming harder to achieve each day, which is why its value keeps growing. On this occasion, the Japanese brand Subaru took up the gauntlet and has once again beaten it.

And it has done so with the new WRX STI Type RA NBR Special, a model “developed to showcase the brand’s saloon and its AWD technology”. A true record breaker with which Subaru has planted its flag at the top of the list of records not only at the Nürburgring, but also on the legendary Isle of Man and on the no less renowned hill climb at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood.

Prepared for the occasion, the Subaru WRX STi Type RA NBR can change the position of the rear wing using buttons on the steering wheel. Both the 2.0-litre boxer engine and the symmetrical AWD traction of the WRX STI Type RA NBR Special were specially prepared by Prodrive, the team linked to Subaru in the world of motorsport to take on the challenge at the Nürburgring. Subaru did not want to leave anything to chance, as it wants the achievement to support the launch of this new Type RA version that the brand is going to release on the market before the end of the year of the WRX STI.

The WRX STI Type RA NBR Special was developed from a standard 2017 WRX STI, to which a welded safety cage was fitted inside to increase rigidity. Under its front bonnet roars the well-known 2.0-litre petrol boxer engine that Subaru uses in the WRC, which has been modified and optimised to deliver its best performance on the tarmac of the “Green Hell”. It features a turbo capable of up to 25 psi, whose air flange was set to reach 75 mm. These modifications allowed it to produce 600 CV of power with the engine spinning at 8,500 rpm, the same speed at which the vehicle reached — according to the records kept by Prodrive — its top speed on the circuit: 288 km/h.

To transfer all that potential to the wheels (which were fitted with 9-inch slick tyres), Subaru used the automatic gearbox from the WRX, optimised for the occasion with an automatic paddle-shift control behind the steering wheel during the test. The gear changes made during the run were remarkably quick and undoubtedly one of the reasons behind the success achieved. Gear shifts were carried out with outstanding precision at speeds between 20 and 25 milliseconds, quite an achievement.

To improve its aerodynamics, Subaru fitted the WRX STI with a new aerodynamic package, whose design gave this NBR Special version better manoeuvrability, while also allowing it to reach a higher speed thanks to the significant improvement in the downforce the WRX STI generated during the test: up to 294 kg. The new electro-hydraulically actuated rear wing fitted to the car played a large part in this achievement.

Using buttons located on the steering wheel, the driver can, in just 20 milliseconds, change the position of the wing, fully retracting or extending it depending on the need to increase or reduce the downforce acting on the vehicle in the different corners and straights of the circuit.

After preparing the car at the Silverstone circuit, the first attempt by the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Special on 19 May to beat the record had to be called off due to the heavy rain that flooded the Nürburgring circuit for days (as can be seen in the video accompanying this article). But now, in the final session (whose video has not yet been edited), the timer stopped at 6 minutes and 57.5 seconds, which sets the new target for rivals who want to proudly claim the title of the fastest four-door saloon.