Outback XT Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Sorry for the length but I had a great surprise this week. I was on vacation in the foothills southwest of Denver and had planned to take a run up Pikes Peak on Thursday - past 14,000 feet. I got there a little before 7:00am when they opened and overheard the lady at the gate on her radio say "So their not going to let anyone up until 8:00?" I thought oh great! I payed my $10 bucks and asked when I could go up to the top - it is about a 22 mile climb. She said Subaru had rented out the road for a photo shoot and you won't be able to go past mile marker 8 until about 8:00 or 8:30. Then the last leg to the top opens at 9:00am. I got up to mile marker 8 and there was no one there so I just kept going. The road turned to dirt so I juiced it a bit - I'm used to racing sport bikes on pavement so this was all new to me. The next thing I know see is a new WRX in my mirror - no mistaking the new front end! I played with him for a bit and then let him go since my Ouback isn't going to corner any where near as well. He went past and I kept up a good bit until things got pretty twisty. I had a power advantange with my AccessPort stage 1 so I could catch him in the staights but the corners were all his. Soon our fun was over when I hit the real road block just before the final few miles to the top. And waiting for me was not just one but about eight 2006 WRXs in all colors and forms including one wagon and two STIs. They all had New Jersey plates except for one of the STI's - I couldn't see the other - but it was from Illinois. The funny thing was the ranger who was there. He motioned me to go ahead and said "your from Subaru I assume." I should have taken him up on his offer. I guess they were playing down in the lower portion of the dirt road for a while before heading up to the top for their shoot. They were mostly younger drivers in their 20's and one car load of Japanese - execs I would assume. I don't know if they were really doing a shoot or just having some fun because they didn't stay at the top very long. For all those who say they hate the new front end, I say wait till you see it in person. I really loved it. I still am not too exited about how it will look on the Legacy/Outback. I'm also not all that certain about the looks of the second spoiler on the STI. And the 17's with red Brembo's added a nice touch - the STI had gold Brembo's. There was one Tibeca - maybe carrying the equipment. So we'll have to see if any photos pop up in the magazines or whether this was just some corporate fun. Anyhow it was a nice surprise on my vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 The funny thing was the ranger who was there. He motioned me to go ahead and said "your from Subaru I assume." This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthedeck Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Sounds like a nice place to go driving...and sounds like you had some fun, at that. Oh, and btw, TTIWWOP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outback XT Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 According to my sources (my own ears) SOA brought all the mag editors/writers out to pikes peak to test the new Imprezas. Yes I wish I was in the magazine business This is from a guy on Nabisco who appears to work for Subaru. Sounds like more of a fun run than a publicity thing but we'll see if pics pop up in any mags. Sorry, no camera with me at the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewster Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Sept 5 issue of Autoweek (yellow Z06 on cover), intro article on the 06 STI, pics of STI and WRX wagon on road to Pikes Peak. sorry no scanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 I just saw my first 06 in person yesterday at the dealership and I took a look around, pretty nice up front, the rear spoiler up top is so-so and the lights aren't the greatest, but it didn't look as bad on a black model. BTW, per the brake calipers, the red ones are the original STi 4-pot front, 2-pot rear brakes as used on the STi Version 6 and before. The gold brembos are used on STi version 7 and up models (I believe we're on model 9 now.) The older STi brakes (my guess is might actually be a Tokico manufactured brake caliper as is on our LGT) were not of Brembo mfg to all my knowledge. They worked great on the older, lighter GC/GF/GM Impreza models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 K2gear had some adapters on their website to adapt those rear 2-piston calipers to the Legacy... Those'd go nice with a red-caliper BBK on the legacy... That and the new STI's helical AWD, there are some WRX and STI parts I would adapt to the Legacy, if I had the cash... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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