Hot Subaru Impreza R205 announced

Called the R205 – the ‘R’ standing for ‘Road Sport’ – it has a turbocharged engine producing 316bhp.

Unlike the 2.5-litre Impreza on sale in the UK, the STI R205 uses a high-revving 2-litre motor fitted with a unique turbocharger, tweaked engine management software and sports exhaust.

Subaru Impreza WRX STI R205 gallery:

Most work has gone into improving the chassis, with engineers fitting tuned dampers, coil springs and a flexible strut brace plus 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Bridgestone’s RE070 performance tyres.

Subaru claims steering response and feel have been improved along with road holding and grip.

Brembo brakes bring the R205 to a halt. It’s fitted with huge six pot front and four pot rear callipers.

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Some of the new parts even boast racing pedigree, having been thoroughly tested by an Impreza WRX STI competing in 2009’s Nurburgring 24-hour race.

From the outside a unique wheel design, front chin spoiler, rear diffuser and black rally-style wing mark the WRX STI R205 out as something special.

There are no official plans to offer it in the UK, but importers will find it hard to resist bringing some of these track monsters to our shores for dedicated Subaru customers.

Andy Goodwin, senior web journalist

Check out this New Car Net video review of the Subaru Impreza WRX: