New Impreza ready for Mexico

Outwardly the car looks similar to the previous version of the Impreza, but Team Principal David Lapworth says that this belies the progress and evolution on the vehicle.

"If you look at the development process of the Impreza over the last 10
years, there's a consistent three year cycle," said Lapworth. "Typically about a third of the car is new with each evolution. The 2003 car was the first phase of the current Impreza model.

"Last year we made a lot of progress in areas like aerodynamics and suspension systems. For this year, although there have been further revisions to the aero package and suspension, the focus was on the engine, electronics systems and the bodyshell."

The car has been testing since last November, but was not used on the first two events of the season, the specialist rallies in Monte Carlo and Sweden.

Rally Mexico runs from 12-14 March, where Subaru will field its regular team of Petter Solberg and Mikko Hirvonen.