Subaru Tecnica International
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Subaru Tecnica International

Subaru Tecnica International (in Japanese: スバルテクニカインターナショナル株式会社, romanizedSubaru Tekunika Intānashonaru Kabushiki-gaisha), or STI (prior to 2006, STi), is Subaru Corporation's motorsports division. STI, along with Prodrive of the UK, specialized in the preparation of a variety of vehicles for the Subaru World Rally Team which competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). It was founded in 1988 by Subaru Corporation (then known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the parent company of Subaru, to promote the company's performance-oriented identity.

Subaru Tecnica International Inc. (STi) was established in 1988 by Fuji Heavy Industries to take over all of Subaru's motorsport activities and participate in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Subaru was seen as one of the world's top rally racing teams, but is no longer active at a factory level in the WRC.

The seeds of STI were planted in 1972, when Subaru campaigned the Leone in the Australia’s Southern Cross Rally. After their first foray into competition, Subaru made history with the first AWD car entered in the World Rally Championship (WRC), when the Leone 4WD entered the Safari Rally in 1980.

STi was then officially founded by Noriyuki Koseki and Ryuichiro Kuze in 1988. Previously, Koseki had helped prepare a Subaru FF-1 that was entered into the 1971 Baja 500 by San Bernardino Subaru dealer Jack Coyle. Although the FF-1 did not finish that year, it was able to complete the 1973 race and is now part of the Subaru of America historical collection. Koseki would go on to campaign Subarus privately in the Safari Rally starting in 1979.

STi president Ryuichiro Kuze partnered with British firm Prodrive in 1989 to develop a rally car using the Subaru Legacy chassis. The resulting performance model was the Legacy RS, which produced 220 PS (160 kW; 220 hp) mated to a five speed gearbox and weighing just over 2,600 pounds;[citation needed] it was manufactured by Subaru to homologate the type for FIA Group A racing. The vehicle had a top speed of 155 miles per hour, which was considered extremely powerful at the time.[citation needed]

One of the first activities that STi carried out was setting the world record for 100,000 km (62,000 mi) endurance driving using a fleet of three modified Subaru Legacy RS sedans, averaging 223.345 km/h (138.780 mph) over most of January 1989. The founder of STi, Noriyuki Koseki, coordinated the FIA World Land Endurance Record attempt and drove one of the cars. The Legacy RS used a 2.0-liter EJ20 turbo engine; STi modified the record-setting cars by tuning the suspension and improving the aerodynamics. That November, Subaru began marketing an upgraded Legacy RS with many of the same STi modifications as the Legacy RS Type RA (Record Attempt), limited to a production run of 100 examples. Low-volume Type RA production continued after that initial model, and in 1992 the Legacy Touring Wagon STi was marketed with similar modifications.

Subaru had participated in WRC races since 1980, albeit with limited success by 1988, when STi was founded. Subaru first campaigned the Prodrive-developed Legacy RS in the 1990 WRC season, finishing fourth in the constructor's standings that year. Despite adding Colin McRae to the Subaru World Rally Team in 1991 and winning three straight British Rally Championships from 1991 to 1993 (McRae/Ringer, 1991–92; Burns/Reid 1993) the Legacy RS did not win an individual WRC race until the 1993 Rally New Zealand (McRae/Ringer).

In 1992, with its rally competitors fielding smaller and lighter automobiles, Subaru began to sell the Impreza WRX (World Rally eXperimental) and homologated it for Group A as the Impreza 555; a Prodrive-modified Impreza 555 was campaigned starting with the 1994 WRC season and the new WRC car immediately achieved a podium finish on its debut, with Ari Vatanen coming second at the 1993 1000 Lakes Rally. The Impreza 555 featured a 2.0-litre intercooled turbocharged engine with 250 horsepower, upgraded suspension that could take on more aggressive potholes and jumps, as well as a short shifting transmission which made switching gears more accessible and quicker.

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