Like it or not, sporty crossovers and SUVs are immensely popular and will form a core part of the performance car market for many years to come. Good thing that several manufacturers have stepped up to the plate and invested blood, sweat and tears into turning inherently un-sporty family wagons into bonafide performance cars. Ford did a stellar job with the Puma ST, BMW (usually) injects some M magic into its family mobiles with relative success and there’ll be a decent number of PHers who’ll rank the AMG G63 among their guiltiest of pleasures.
Fast SUVs aren’t a new phenomenon, of course. Porsche has been chucking out sporty versions of the Cayenne for over two decades and once upon a time Volvo offered the XC90 with a 4.4-litre V8. But the first properly cool performance SUV (if you can call it that) arguably came from Japan, specifically Mitsubishi’s Pajero Evolution built to homologate the firm’s off-roader for the Paris-Dakar. And a few years later, Subaru came along with its own rally-inspired crossover with the Forester STI, much like the one that’s about to go under the PH hammer.
Actually, the first Forester STI came out in 2004, whereas the one here is a facelifted model from 2007, but the two are largely identical underneath. Which is to say, the same underpinnings as the Impreza with lots of STI goodies bolted to it. Sportier springs and reworked suspension struts were fitted all round, while the anti-roll bars were beefed up to help keep that Forester’s cupboardy frame in check. A faster steering rack was thrown in for a greater sense of agility, and the brakes were of course upgraded with four-pot Brembo calipers on the front axle.
Power-wise, the Forester STI used an uprated version of Subaru’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine, which sounds a lot like the motor found in UK-spec ‘Hawkeye’ WRX STIs but it was a little different in design. Nevertheless, it featured the same manifold and six-speed gearbox as the WRX STI, and came with a bigger intercooler and freer-flowing exhaust, bringing power up to 265hp and 279lb ft of torque. Not quite on par with the saloon, but not far off at all, and with the added benefit of a giant boot and a bit more ground clearance.
Best of all, it looked like a proper STI. Both bumpers were given sporty reworks, a spoiler was plonked on the rear and pink STI badges and stickers were slapped all over the body. The bonnet scoop appeared a little larger, too, likely to feed more air into the uprated, top-mounted intercooler. And no, metallic purple wasn’t offered from the factory and is a wrap on this particular car. It doesn’t look too bad, either, and goes nicely with the gold-painted brake callipers and black stickers. However, if you’d rather rip it off you’ll find a more muted Obsidian Black underneath.
Also, notice the Litchfield badge at the back? The tuning firm imported the car from Japan (it was never officially sold here) and treated it to some choice upgrades before handing it over to its first buyer. Said upgrades have lifted power up to a dyno-recorded 333hp, which sounds a lot more like it. These are proper cult cars these days, and are a great way to mix family requirements with a love for noughties rallying and turbo whistles. And you won’t have long to wait until the auction gets underway, with bids being accepted from January 29th. But if you really, really want it, you could always beat bidders to the punch by submitting an offer the seller can’t refuse…
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