A Subaru is still the fastest four-wheeled way to get around the Isle of Man. The Subaru STI Time Attack car proved that a few days ago. The boxer-powered rocket ship piloted by Mark Higgins set a new lap record across the 37-mile Isle of Man TT course with a lap time of 17.35 and an average speed of 128.73 mph! Higgins previously held the same record at 116.47 mph with a time of 19.26.
While being interviewed, Higgins stated, “It was an amazing run today considering we were running in very hot conditions and the tarmac was quite soft. With lower temperatures we would be making more horsepower, so I still believe we have more left in terms of speed, but it is great to have another record in the bank.” He continued with, “The chassis on this new car is fantastic to drive. It makes a difference driving a car custom designed for this course. It really allowed me to pick up time in each sector in the more technical parts of the course.” The most interesting thing to note from that little interview is that fact that with cooler weather, Mark thinks he could have been even faster. That is mighty impressive considering he just cut nearly two minutes off the old record with this new car.
Speaking of that flat-four beast, the 2016 car Subaru set up is meant to tackle not only the TT course, but the Nürburgring and Le Mans circuits as well. For this, Subaru Technica International (STI) partnered with Prodrive for the design and the build. Both of which have a long history creating race-winning vehicles.
I’d say with a little fine-tuning, the right weather condition and the crack team that Subaru has going for them, this time attack car will be blowing away several records. Breaking the TT record is just a start.
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Written by: Trevor Dunlap
