In May, Subaru announced plans to attempt to break its own record around the famous Isle of Man TT Circuit in a 2015 Subaru WRX STI. The four-wheeled record around the 37.8-mile course, sitting at 19 minutes and 56.7 seconds, was set in 2011 by rally ace Mark Higgins in a previous-generation WRX STI. Subaru either made massive improvements to the all-new WRX STI or Higgins has gotten faster, because they’ve shattered their previous time by a significant amount after setting a new lap record of 19 minutes and 26 seconds.
During his lap around the challenging TT Mountain course, Higgins managed to maintain an average speed of 116 mph and reach a top speed of over 160 mph. He was behind the wheel of a production-ready, American-specification 2015 WRX STI. Subaru says the only modifications done to the car were changes to the springs and dampers, which helped minimize the potential damage when car hit the many bumps, dips and jumps on the TT course. It was also equipped with essential racing safety enhancements such as a roll cage, race seats and harnesses, a fire suppression system and Dunlop Derezza tyres.
“It was quite a lap we did today and I am really happy to have another record in the bank. The chassis of the new car is so much better it really allowed me to pick up time in each sector in the more technical parts of the course,” Higgins said.
The 2015 WRX STI is equipped with a 2.5-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder Boxer engine producing 305 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. It will sprint from a standstill to 100 km/h in about 5.1 seconds and now we know that if you’re fast enough, it will lap the Isle of Man TT course in well under 20 minutes!
