The Subaru Impreza WRC 2002 (スバルインプレッサ WRC2002) is a R/C Mini 4WD car released by Tamiya in 2002. It is the very first minicar in the line-up.
It is based on Subaru World Rally Team's GD variant of the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, specifically the WRC2001 variant that Tommi Mäkinen is driving in the Monte Carlo Rally of the 2002 World Rally Championship season.
General info
The Impreza WRC featuring the 4-door sports sedan body design, with the rear spoiler featured on the real-life road-legal Imprezas as well as an addtional rooftop air intake that was presented on the WRC cars. It has the circle-shaped headlamps on the front that has two sub-lights and a signal light. An air intake also protruded from the front panel.
The Subaru World Rally Team's decals can be found on the bodyshell. Also presented are the decals of the sponsors of the rally team, namely Pirelli and Motul. As the minicar is made during the on-going 2002 WRC season, it has the Monte Carlo Rally decals, as it is based on the one that was used on that rally event. The bodyshell is molded in Subaru WR Blue.
It comes with the small-diameter RC-type 6-spoke wheels with high-profile tires. As part of the first 6 minicars in the line-up, it comes with the R/C system.
About the real-life car the Mini 4WD is based on
The GD variant of the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car was introduced as the race cars for Subaru World Rally Team in 2001's WRC season. It is based on the GD variant of the Subaru Impreza road car.
Like the road car, it is powered by a 2.5 Liter Twin-Turbo Boxer-6 engine mounted longitudinally into the car, which is tuned to capable of produces about 300 horsepower and 347 lb ft (within the specification by FIA). The engine is mated to a 6-speed automatic-maunal gearbox with steering paddles. It is also has the four-wheel-drive drivetrain, although it is fully mechanical instead of electrically controlled.
For the 2002 season, Tommi Mäkinen joined the rally team and is the one who driving car number 10 with his co-driver Kaj Lindström, while Petter Solberg continued with the team and is driving car number 11 with his co-driver Phil Mills.
In the 2002 World Rally Championship, Mäkinen won the season's opening, the Monte Carlo Rally. However the switching from WRC2001 car to WRC2002 car results in him having his car crashed during several races and thus retires on multiple occasions throughout the season. In the end, Mäkinen was taking 8th place in the 2002 season with 22 points. HIs teammate Solberg, on the otherhand, fares better, taking 2nd place in the season with 82 points.
Technical info
Length: 164 mm
Width: 79 mm
Height: N/A
Chassis: TR-1 Chassis
Gear Set(s): N/A
External links
| R/C Mini 4WD series | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Subaru Impreza WRC 2002 · Peugeot 206 WRC · Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII WRC · ZENT Tom's Supra · Calsonic Skyline GTR-2002 · Raybrig NSX 2002 · Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe Flatnose · Beams Integra · Nissan 350Z · Lindwurm-Rider · Cobalt-Gunner | |