Jalopnik: Rally Cars

2008 Subaru Impreza WRC Comes Together In Front Of Our Eyes

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:00:00 EDT

We've always been big fans of the yellow and blue, and the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRC entrant is no exception. And if you were curious, there's a decent amount of work needed to take your stock 2008 WRX and convert it into a rally monster. See above. After all that work it's nice to see the result isn't this, though the Impreza could use 800-inch chrome rims. [SWRT]

What Would You Convert Into A Rally Car?

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:40:00 EDT

The photos today of the Ferrari 308 GTB rally car combined with the VW Thing (which rallied against the Allied Forces) got us thinking again about rally cars. Anything can be a rally racer, whether AWD/FWD/RWD or even 6WD. From the diminutive Kia Rio to the insane Suzuki Escudo, anything can be rallied. Anything...

Just look at today's DOTS retrospective. Would we rally a Porsche 356? Yes. 1977 Olds Custom Cruiser? Yes. 1987 Starion? You see where we're going with this. Assuming unlimited classes, and most rally series have many classes, what would you convert for dirt-ice-mud-roading?

[Photo: SpecialStage]

Professional Hoonage: A History Of Rally Jumps

Mark Arnold — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:15:00 EST

Ok, enough of all this drunken amateur Leap Day hoonage. I mean, I've got nothing against ~~hosers~~ Canadians killing time up in the great white north; but I think it's time to see how the professionals do it. So, we present to you a montage in tribute to the illustrious history of rally jumps. Spanning over many years and countries, these guys definitely knew what they were doing.

[YouTube]

What Would Make The Best American Rally Car?

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:30:00 EST

Snow, slush, ice, mud, tornadoes and windstorms have led to less-than-stellar driving conditions in many parts of the country. It's not even safe to be driving a giant wiener. When the driving conditions get bad in this country we generally turn to trucks and sport-utlitly-vehicles for help. But there's a magical place, a place called "the rest of the world." And people who live in this mysterious land see a muddy road and think Ford Escort instead of Jeep Wrangler, Peugeot 205 instead of Chevy Tahoe and Renault Clio instead of Ford F-150. These are the people with the Spirit of the Rally.

While we've had a bit of a renaissance with the American rally racing seen, it's sad to see that most of the cars are not America. We may have great American drivers, like Travis Pastrana, but he still drives a deer dodging Subaru WRX STI. Though you'll see the odd Camaro at rallying events, it's still a sport dominated by everyone else. We think if you're going to have a great renaissance of the American rally, you're going to need a great American car to do it. But what car? We leave that to you to decide. (h/t to Franzouse for the inspiration)

Ninja Rally Fan Avoids Peril, Plots Revenge

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:00:00 EST

What do you get when you cross a baker and a ninja? A dead baker. Never cross a ninja. What you see here is all the proof you need that rally fans are the most hardcore racing fans out there (Oh, you say you camped for a day outside the Texas Motor Speedway in your 38-foot luxury RV? It just doesn't measure up to spending the night with two of your friends cramped into a LeCar on a freezing night along the Vistula just to see your favorite rally drivers, four seconds at at time). A driver spins his hatch towards the crowd and this fan transforms into a ninja to avoid getting crushed. [DPCCars]