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Subaru in International Rallying: 2004

FIVE WINS IN A “NEW” IMPREZA® WRC2004

Petter Solberg and Phil Mills in action on SS23 during leg three, Telstra Rally Australia 2004.

Petter Solberg and Phil Mills in action on SS23 during leg three, Telstra Rally Australia 2004.


arrows IN 2004, SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM PRINCIPAL DAVID LAPWORTH EXPLAINED THAT THE TEAM’S WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CAR DEVELOPMENT ROUGHLY FOLLOWED A THREE–YEAR CYCLE. THE IMPREZA WRC2004 REPRESENTED THE SECOND YEAR OF THAT CYCLE.

With Petter Solberg/Phil Mills in car #1 and Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen in car #2, the Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) entered the 2004 World Rally Championship (WRC) season prepared to defend Solberg’s 2003 WRC Drivers’ Championship. Starting the season with the previous year’s Subaru Impreza WRC car, the team debuted the Impreza WRC2004 at the third event, in Mexico. However, even by that third rally, it was clear that Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (driving for Citroën) was the team to beat, having won the first two.

arrows AN IMPRESSIVE SEASON

Mikko Hirvonen and Petter Solberg at Cyprus Rally 2004

Mikko Hirvonen and Petter Solberg at Cyprus Rally 2004.

With Loeb chalking up 12 podium finishes (1st — six times, 2nd — six times), Solberg battled Markko Märtin (Ford) and Carlos Sainz (Citroën) for 2nd in the Drivers’ Championship. Throughout the season, Solberg/Mills finished on the podium seven times, with overall wins at the Propecia Rally New Zealand, Acropolis Rally, Rally Japan, Wales Rally GB, and Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia. Despite not finishing four events, Solberg/Mills ended the season with three more points than Märtin and nine more points than Sainz — and one less podium finish than each of them.

Meanwhile, in their second full season in the WRC as driver/co–driver, Hirvonen/Lehtinen showed great promise. They placed 7th in the WRC Drivers’ Championship.

One telling statistic for the 2004 WRC season was the total stage wins accumulated by each team. Once Solberg/Mills started campaigning the new WRC2004, they won more stages than anyone — 95 for the season. The next closest was Marcus Grönholm/Timo Rautiainen (Peugeot) with 69 and Loeb/Elena with 65.

arrows AN IMPRESSIVE RALLY CAR

Petter Solberg and Phil Mills in action on SS4 during leg one, Telstra Rally Australia 2004
Petter Solberg and Phil Mills in action on SS4 during leg one, Telstra Rally Australia 2004.

Based on the Subaru Impreza WRC2003, the WRC2004 had dramatic changes — mostly under the sheetmetal. The car’s aerodynamics package and suspension systems evolved throughout 2003 and continued through 2004. Development of the WRC2004 focused on the engine, electronics systems, and body, with additional work on the brakes and transmission.

For the rally car’s SUBARU BOXER® engine, engineers enhanced a number of components and systems. The IHI turbocharger, exhaust manifold, and fuel injection system were modified. So were internal components, including the crankshaft, pistons, and camshafts. The changes resulted in a wider range of power and torque, which improved response and drivability.

Modifications of the electronics systems included a new wiring harness and integrated control system. Instead of separate electronic controls for the chassis, engine, and transmission, a single unit was introduced. With less duplication of sensors, more powerful processing, and greater memory, the system improved data manipulation.

New regulations for 2004 allowed lightweight body components. The WRC2004 was given polycarbonate rear and side windows (with half the weight of glass), aluminum front fenders and trunk lid, and a redesigned body shell with added strength and lower mass. The result was increased overall body stiffness and an improved center of gravity.

For the Impreza WRC2004’s specifications, see the Origins article in Drive Performance Version 1.2 here.


Subaru World Rally Team
2008 SWRT Update — First Half of Season1
Date Rally SWRT Results
January 24–27 76e Rallye Automobile Monte–Carlo Petter Solberg/Phil Mills — 5th
Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prévot — 3rd
February 8–10 Uddeholm Swedish Rally
(Production Car WRC2)		 Solberg/Mills — 4th
Atkinson/Prévot — 21st
February 29–March 2 Corona Rally México Solberg/Mills — 11th
Atkinson/Prévot — 2nd
March 28–30 Rally Argentina
(Production Car WRC)		 Solberg/Mills — Retired, accident
Atkinson/Prévot — 2nd
April 24–27 Jordan Rally WRC Solberg/Mills — Retired, accident
Atkinson/Prévot — 3rd
May 16–18 Rally d’Italia–Sardegna Solberg/Mills — 10th
Atkinson/Prévot — 6th
May 29–June 1 BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally
(Production Car WRC)		 Solberg/Mills — 2nd
Atkinson/Prévot — Retired, accident
June 13–15 Rally of Turkey
(Production Car WRC)		 Solberg/Mills — 6th
Atkinson/Prévot — 13th
Impreza WRC2008

TOP: 2008 SWRT drivers/co-drivers Phil Mills, Petter Solberg, Chris Atkinson, and Stéphane Prévot ABOVE: Impreza WRC2008, introduced for the BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally in May.

1 For the rest of the 2008 WRC schedule, click here.
2 For Subaru Rally Team USA’s results in the 2008 Production Car WRC, click here.

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