Subaru has finally unwrapped its latest performance project, the WRX Project Midnight. After a series of teasers, we finally have all the specifications for this powerful beast. It’s a slick spin-off of the Airslayer Gymkhana car and makes 670 horsepower. Subaru also doesn’t appear as though it’s poised to put any of the new tech on display into a production version of the WRX. On paper, Project Midnight is a monster. It leverages a 2.0-liter flat four-cylinder to develop 670 hp and 920 Nm of torque while revving to 9,500 RPM. It sends that power to all four 18-inch wheels and 280-section-width Yokohama tires.
As mentioned, this is a spin-off of the
Airslayer, a Gymkhana car from 2020 that set its own records and did various
stunts including a 230-foot jump. Project Midnight actually weighs almost 136 kg less than Airslayer and 454 k less than a
standard WRX. All of that sounds awesome and it objectively is. The driver taking
the car up the Goodwood Hillclimb confirms that it feels great to drive too.
To Subaru’s credit, no automaker will sell
you a racecar. Well… Porsche, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, and a slew of others
will, but who really wants that anyway? What fans want is to have their
favorite halo car done away with and then for the brand to bring out a slightly
improved version of the WRX with 6 more horsepower and 14 more
torques (18.96 Nm) than it had a decade ago.
Subaru really seems like it’s turning into
another brand that shows us cool things at car events and then never delivers
those cool things to real customers.
