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Sports Car of the Week Volume 3 – 2005 Subaru WRX STi owned by Andrew and Lisa Kaufman
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2005 Subaru WRB STi
When the Subaru Impreza made its way to the United States in 1994, it was a vehicle that had received rave reviews in Europe and Japan for their performance in both on and off-road racing. Subaru had never made a real push into the American performance market, so the original Impreza released in the US shared little with the models sold in Japan and Europe (JDM and EDM) and this new compact was a far cry from a performance car. This did not stop the Impreza from becoming popular in the US, and with the early growth of the sport compact market across the country, Subaru wanted to test the waters for a performance model. In 1998 the 2.5RS was introduced, and although the sporty exterior and 165hp engine made the car more interesting, it was still nothing like its JDM siblings.
The 2.5RS would be enough to keep the interest in Subaru performance high and when the second generation of the Impreza was released around the world, Subaru began talking about launching the performance models in the US. It took them a little over a year, but in 2001 WRX models hit the US shores and they were well received. The turbocharged all-wheel-drive models continued to build the reputation of Subaru’s performance division, separating the performance oriented models from the similarly named Impreza base models.
News of Mitsubishi launching their Lancer Evolution got Subaru’s attention and they fired back, announcing that the battle of the rally monsters would spread to the US streets as they would begin offering the STi stateside. With no real competition in their class, the Evo and STi went head to head, with huge groups of enthusiasts drawing lines in the sand and choosing sides.
One individual who chose Subaru's side was Andrew Kaufman of Madison Heights, Michigan. Having previously owned a Stage-2 Neon SRT-4, he began looking for an STi, with his search aimed at a very high powered AMS-built STi near Chicago. After much deliberation, and he contacted AMS to tell them that he was coming to see the car, at which point they informed him that it had been sold. By chance, he happened to search around the Chicago area and he came across another 2005 WRB STi at a dealership. He called and spoke with them, and they were unfamiliar with the car, so they weren’t able to tell him if the car was stock or modified, but they did tell him that it had only 12,000 miles and that it was very clean. Having had the car that he wanted sold out from under him; he didn’t want it to happen again so he put down a deposit over the phone on a Friday night.
The next morning, he and his wife left the area around 9:30am and drove 4 hours to Chicago. He arrived to exactly what he had hoped – a low mileage WRB STi with gold BBS wheels, spotless inside and out; top to bottom. He knew right then and there that this was his STi, so made the purchase and drove it back that day.
While this 4-door sedan accommodates him and his family, he has modified it to meet his performance needs as well. Just to hear this STi, it is quickly evident that it is not a stock vehicle. The grumble from the HKS exhaust amplifies the unique sound of the Subaru boxer engine and an HKS atmospheric blow off valve announces the forced induction setup. The car has been built to move with the help of a Hunter Turbo 20G TD06 housing customized by Speed Trapp Consultants of Troy, Michigan, and the boost is controlled by means of a Tial 44mm external wastegate. An upgraded fuel system featuring Power Enterprise 850cc injectors and a Walboro 255 LPH fuel pump provide adequate fuel for the system and the engine is kept cooler thanks to a massive front mount intercooler from Turbo XS.
This configuration allows Andrew to run around 18 pounds of boost and at that boost level his daily driven STi made 330 wheel horsepower; around 100 more hp than a stock 2005 STi thanks to the modifications and dyno tune by Speed Industry in Troy, Michigan. As to not ignore style in building this performance sedan, the intercooler tubes were powder-coated gold with blue couplers, matching the engine bay with the exterior.
While the STi is obviously not your run of the mill Japanese economy car, Andrew’s 2005 WRB STi allows for no question that this sedan means business, and the exterior improvements give this car a mean look that is backed up by the drivetrain enhancements. Most sports car drivers know that the STi isn’t an easy car to mess with on the streets, but while Andrew’s looks great and runs even better, his Subaru goes to show exactly why this car has grown to be so popular in the US.
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Andrew's 2005 STi does a great job of representing Subaru and the import scene as a whole, with impressive power and subtle, sharp styling, and that is why is STi is my Sports Car of the Week.
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