First tematic entry of our new blog! In case you missed the first one, it was just an introduction and you can find it here. We want to dedicate this post to the car of a great friend of us, somebody who can absolutely be defined a Petrolhead in every aspect of his life. Christopher (this is his name) is a mechanic and a race car driver. And his race car is this stunning Subaru Impreza GF8 WRX, called “Giardinetta” (which is the Italian for “Station Wagon”), that has been thrashed in rally stages, slalom and gymkhana events all across the northern Italy since 2007.
A particular mention must be done about “Drift Drive”, the non profit, charity oriented organization led by Christopher, as the President, and by Giardinetta as flagship. They are organizing non competitive gymkhana events since 2009, and every time “Drift Drive” enters the track (or the rally stage), you can be sure you will get an unforgettable show. Giardinetta is a stunning vision, with the 22B body kit and that 18” red Rota Grid wheels (or Fondmetal Evo Corse 18” as spare set).
And she has an EJ207 Engine, built by Soretti (If you live outside Italy, maybe you never heard about him. In two words, he is a real landmark for Subaru tuning in our country), with a TD05 20G turbocharger coupled to a TIAL 38mm external wastegate, an Apexi Power FC ECU, steel headers, a custom made exhaust system, bigger injectors, uprated fuel pump with a swirl pot, an oil cooler, and many other interesting things, just like the custom made water/air intercooler, ideal for gymkhanas, where sometimes there is not enough speed to punch enough air through the bonnet vent for a conventional intercooler, or even for a front mount one. Whit this setup, Giardinetta is capable of 380hp.
Think of the full stripped interior, removed sound deadening, lexan rear windows, fibreglass bonnet, trunk, fenders and rear doors, removed spare tire housing, and all the weight that this things bring with them, and you’ll get a good figure of how fast this baby can be. And she is even faster thanks to the 5 speed STi gearbox with 4.44 final gear. But she must be agile, even more than fast, so we have an uprated steering rack, custom made adjustable coilovers, STi suspension arms and strut bars, Whiteline 26mm sway bars. Yes, it is enough to make Giardinetta very, very quick through the corners. Brake compartment? Ok, she had a full 2011 STi Brembo brake system, with Project Mu brake pads and a hydraulic handbrake.
Why I said “she had”? Well, because the brake system is being upgraded with two Brembo 4 pot brake calipers even in the rear. Because the rear brakes, and the handbrake in particular are becoming more and more important...
And this leads to the main reason why you are seeing Giardinetta being serviced in a workshop (for instance, this is Autorestauro, Christopher’s very own workshop). After so many years of all wheel drive, she is becoming a real Drift car. Yes, that’s it. This beautiful GF8 has been transformed in an rwd car, to be driven hard like hell in Drifting events. So, say goodbye to the front driveshafts and the center differential. Are you shocked? Are you upset? Oh, come on, this can’t be a tragedy, so many people (somebody said Team Orange?) demonstrated that an rwd Impreza can be a great car for Drifting. This means that Christopher is switching his interest in driving fast and becoming a drifter? I’m not so sure about that… If you look on another side of the workshop, you can see this beautiful Impreza Type R with a fully welded rollcage, reinforced chassis, full Kevlar 22B bodykit…
Yes, just another little work in progress. But don’t worry, we’ll talk about her soon. So, stay tuned!
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