It didn’t take much from Subaru of America to get a herd of mouth-watering journalists to congregate in Savannah, Georgia, to get a taste of its 2002 WRX sedan. Deposited via charter aircraft at a rally school in Gainesville, Florida, members of the press were soon under the careful tutelage of instructor/racers. Aside from confirming that Gran Turismo can inflate one’s estimation of his/her real world performance driving abilities, the instruction helped acquaint us with the limits of the car, mastery of the pendulum turn, as every mock rally stage began with the “Jedi-driver” showing you how it was done. I did my best to fling the new WRX perilously around an asphalt, a gravel, and a third higher speed course that featured a nasty combination of the two surfaces. In all instances, regardless of the road surface conditions, I found the WRX to be stable, responsive, very forgiving, and seemingly faster than its 227 horse-rating belies. The improved stiffness of the new chassis allows it to wring out every bit of chutzpah from its 227 horses and 217 lb-ft of torque. Finally, one of the English rally instructors (all who seemed to be named Andy, Richard, or Liam) chauffeured each of us through Course 4 as passengers. The Fourth stage was a deeply rutted mixture of sand, gravel, jagged rocks, land mines, and everything but hungry Bengal tigers, and a bunch of other nasty surfaces that have been known to debase a car’s undercarriage. After a brief, exhilarating ride that nearly landed my lunch on my Pumas, a change of jock was in order. Driven at the limit by someone who can, I emerged from the WRX, trembling, disoriented, and sweat-soaked but with a newfound respect for the prodigious capabilities of this car when driven at its limit.

A day later, the mob of journalists found themselves on a closed asphalt course, and as though on cue, the heavens parted to soak the roads with rain. The WRXs, now fitted with 17-inch wheel and tire combinations, were coaxed around a higher speed course to greater speeds with each subsequent pass. To say that the WRX’s road holding ability, in spite of the wet roads, was confidence-inspiring, would be an understatement. Thanks to the tuned suspension, body roll is minimized and turn-in response is almost telepathic. The power output becomes far more pronounced, as the tachometer eclipses 3,000 rpm with boost—sending occupants into a state of gleeful delirium, as all four wheels bear down, ejecting the WRX out of turns. The handling of the WRX so quickly gained one’s trust, that journalists, photographers, and Fuji engineers were soon engaged in friendly one-upmanship on the cone slalom course trying to better each other’s stopwatch figure. While this posturing of manhood transpired, Super Street was well represented at the cookie buffet as we soon made short work of all that was an M&M chocolate chip. It was amidst the throes of this cookie binge that we began to contemplate the evolution of this latest WRX species Subaru.

For years, we have been reading about performance variants and homologation specials such as the Skyline GT-R, Lancer Evo VI, Silvia, Civic Type R, Levin, and WRX that the rest of the world gets to drive. These iconic performance badges are the basis for most of the really insane modified exotics roaming the Japanese expressways. Here in the states, we are left to modify one of exotica’s sheepish U.S. export market cousins in an effort to emulate the racier platforms.

This circuitous route to getting behind the wheel of a true Japanese homologation special just got a whole lot shorter. Beginning in March 2001, the American performance car consumer gets to taste the new Subaru Impreza WRX pie.

Since 1993, the Impreza WRX nameplate has been making the rounds on the global stage, forging the badge’s name in history as one of the world’s foremost all-weather performance cars. Originally conceived to homologate the chassis and drivetrain hardware for the punishment of the world rally circuit, the 2002 WRX continues in this capacity for Subaru. Design considerations have been taken to ensure the new car’s success in the competitive U.S. market.

For 2002, the new Impreza WRX features numerous refinements, mostly in the interest of improving safety, ride quality, interior space, and handling over the previous generation Impreza. Gone are the previous Impreza’s 2.2L SOHC engine designs, and two-door models. All 2002 Subaru Imprezas, including the WRX, utilize a sturdier, ring-shaped reinforcement frame body structure that enhances chassis performance and safety. The newer, more robust platform employs a hydro-formed subframe and tailor-welded blanks on the B-pillars to improve on the previous chassis’ torsional rigidity by 148 percent on the sedan. Meanwhile, the interior receives thoughtful touches that lend to the performance image of the WRX. Supportive, fully-adjustable, race-inspired seats, a leather-wrapped MOMO steering wheel, and aluminum pedals are standard on the WRX.

The 2.0 turbocharged motor
places the intercooler flush
against the hood scoop.

The local barbecue joint hit the spot. Pork is god.