2015 Subaru BRZ GT300 and WRX NBR
When overall power is capped by a racing series of technical limits of the engine, you have a few other routes to more speed. These include a drop in weight and an increase in grip. But what can you do if max weight and tire setups are also regulated by racing rules?
The last summit to climb is then aerodynamics and downforce.
Subaru has embraced this fourth route to greatness in its two new racers: the BRZ GT300 and WRX STI NBR Challenge.
The splitters up front add nearly a foot of extra length right at the low leading edge of the car, and doctwork in the wider fenders releases any trapped pressure from the engine compartment and wheel wells.
Out back, it is all about managing airflow via the giant venturi tunnels from under the car, releasing pressure and heat from the rear wheels, diffs and brakes, and finally planting the stance at high speed. Downforce and high-speed stability are crucial: hence the rear wings that add a full two feet of length to the machines via a long-tail spoiler. Not just air management and straight-line stability: the giant surface of the spoilers themselves shows how important pushing down the rear end is to overall race pace.
So when there is no power or weight-saving left, Subaru still proves its ingeniuty in these racecars. Creating speed…. out of thin air!
2015 Subaru BRZ GT300
2015 Subaru WRX STi NBR Challenge
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
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