If you’re going to jump from a quayside over open water to a special barge for Red Bull: New Year. No Limits, you don’t do it in a standard car you buy from a showroom. How can Travis achieve this in a Subaru Impreza WRX? We do the math…
2,500...
Travis’s Impreza has a 2,500cc engine, producing about 400bhp, more than twice that of a standard USA spec 2.5-litre Impreza’s 171bhp and still significantly more than the other ‘hot’ versions you’d find at a Subaru dealer like the GT (224bhp), WRX (265bhp) and WRX STI (305bhp). The four-cylinder engine in Travis’s machine also produces a massive 451lb/ft of torque to put enough power down through the wheels to drag it up the ramp. As if this weren’t enough, it also has one impressive turbocharger…
5...
Pay out for a roadgoing Impreza WRX STI and you get a fancy six-speed gearbox, but Travis only has five forward gears – the difference is that his is a special ‘dog-engagement’ gearchange, meaning that Travis can change gear without having to depress the clutch. Don’t try this at home.
1...
It’s not the kind of racing car normally referred to as a single-seater, but one seat is all you get in the Impreza, to save weight. The Recaro seat that Travis has is fitted with a six-point safety harness to keep him firmly in it in the event of a flip, with one very expensive HANS neck restraint system to prevent serious injury.
3,000...
As described above, some weight-saving is essential if you’re going to fly through the air in a car. Travis’s Impreza weighs in at 3,000lbs, or 1.36 tons. Strengthening and safety are key in rally cars, so you’ll find a seam-welded bodyshell and custom-made rollcage that add weight you wouldn’t find in a standard car. Savings are made with carbon-fibre roof scoop and rear wing, and even carbon-fibre for the interior door cards and Travis’s footrest. The sump guard is lightweight aluminium, with the under-floor protection from composite materials. A big, heavy metal fuel tank is foregone, with a 65-litre kevlar ‘bladder’ holding the small amount of fuel Travis will need for the stunt.
4...
To get the power down, the special Subaru has four-wheel drive, with a DCCD (driver-controlled centre differential) and another bespoke electronic system that allows manual control of the amount of torque to each of the four wheels, giving Travis the final say in power output to control the car.
50...
The BFGoodrich tyres on the car are specially developed for rallying. Normally, on a rally, a Subaru like Travis’s will wear out a tyre after around 50 miles (80km), though this is obviously not a consideration at New Year. No Limits. Their strength is, however. Just hitting a bump on a rough road can load three tons onto one tyre. Just imagine what pressure an angled landing onto a barge might exert!
We’ve crunched the numbers, but can Travis avoid crunching his car? See how his first practice went…
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