Subaru: new car to solve problems

The team failed to score a single victory last year, and on Friday they unveiled the new car which will make its debut in Rally Mexico in one week's time.

While the car does not look too different to its predecessor on the outside, the team are confident that they have solved several of the issues that they had with the 2006 car, including the traction issues that the drivers often complained about.

2003 champion Petter Solberg has tested the car, and he was happy with the improvements that the team have made.

He said: "The car seems to have good traction and my feeling is that there are many areas where we have taken a step forward with this car.

"Hopefully Mexico is going to be the start of a new phase for the team and we just have to build it up from here for the rest of the season."

Steve Farrell, director of engineering for SWRT said: "Externally, the differences are very subtle. We have applied a different philosophy into areas such as weight distribution, suspension geometry and differential setups.

"The targets were to produce a car that has a more responsive front end, with better traction, and more balanced tyre wear on long stages."

The team have had to compete in the opening three rallies of the year with their 2006 car, which has shown flashes of speed, but lacked the consistency needed to compete for victories.

However, the team are being cautious with their hopes for the 2007 car's debut event.

SWRT managing director Richard Taylor said: "We're looking forward to introducing our 2007 car, and our target for Mexico is to improve on the results that we've achieved this season."