It's true what they say, "Double your pleasure, double your fun." Well, that's mostly the case. On one hand, too many double hamburgers, although tasty, will double your blood pressure. On the other hand, doubling your pleasure with twin turbos is all good. We all know how much fun piloting a turbo'd car is, so imagine what screamin' around in a twin-turbo rocket is like. I experienced the twin-turbo majesty of the Blitz TT Sti.
Disappointed with the 2004 TAS show, I was expecting the same in '05; your average amount of GT-Rs, Silvias, Evolutions, vans and some race vehicles. (Working in the import industry for the past 10 years caused me to become jaded.) I cruised the show in my usual way, hitting the performance shops first, then looking at the display vehicles.
Then-surprise!-a Subaru WRX STi in the Blitz booth. I've seen a lot of turbocharged STis in the past. The TAS show is the king of fixed-up Evos and STis. However, this one was different. It didn't have a wild body kit or an extravagant color scheme or even wild graphics for that matter; just a plain silver STi with a lip spoiler and decals. That was it. Just like your mama says, "It's what's on the inside that makes you special."
The Blitz STi is truly special underneath the bonnet. Subaru likes to promote the boxer engine's symmetrical platform layout design, so it was only fitting for Blitz to use two turbos instead of one. Dominating the engine compartment of the Subaru are the two Blitz Sonic Power air cleaners that lead into the twin K3-330R turbos.
One-off custom exhaust manifolds collect spent gases from each cylinder head to spool each turbo. Two Blitz C42 wastegates and an SBC i-D electronic boost controller regulate boost pressure. Spent gases from the turbo are expedited by way of two custom stainless steel downpipes. After the exhaust streams merge, they're exorcised through a prototype Blitz Nur Spec C-ti titanium exhaust system.
The key to horsepower production is to remove the heat-soaked compressed air by cooling with an intercooler. The STi utilizes a large, front-mount air-to-air intercooler to cool the charge air coming from the turbos. While the front-mount intercooler cools the charge air, the Blitz Racing radiator and oil cooler cool the Subaru's fluids.
From the intercooler, the charge air is directed to the intake manifold, where it's mixed with high-octane fuel injected by four 800cc Blitz injectors. The highly volatile mixture is then compressed in the cylinder by the factory-forged pistons. Once full compression is realized, the mixture is fired off by Blitz Racing R6427 sparkplugs.
Like many high-horsepower vehicles, engine management was the key to making it all run properly. The STi runs a prototype fuel computer currently under development. With all the trick one-off components, the Impreza spun the 4WD Bosch dyno to a tune of 500.9 ps (493.2 hp) and 55.5 kg-m (401.3 lb-ft) on high-octane unleaded fuel.
The interior of the Subaru was pretty much left stock, with the exception of the carbon fiber Blitz GT4 bucket seat that securely holds the driver in place. A battery of Blitz DCII gauges, R-VIT and R-FIT meters keeps tabs on engine vitals.
On the exterior, the car is mostly stock with the exception of 18-inch Blitz Techno Speed aluminum wheels wrapped with Dunlop Direzza DZ101 rubber.
The Dunlops are firmly set on the asphalt, thanks to four-way adjustable Blitz SR Dampers. The height-adjustable coil-overs allow the Blitz engineers to fine-tune the STi's suspension balance at each corner. Since the STi already comes equipped with Brembo calipers, the braking system was left stock with the exception of Blitz Pagid RS4-2 high-performance brake pads.
The Impreza also behaved well on the streets in and around Tokyo. The 2.0-liter engine was extremely responsive at low rpm and a monster at the top-end. What do we like most about the STi? It's a true sleeper. No wild tail, no graphics, no aero kit: just pure, kick-ass power.
Blitz engineers responsible for the kit said if there's a demand for it the kit may show up stateside. But considering the price of each turbo and the wastegates, the price tag won't be for impostors-only the serious enthusiast.
If you want twice the glory, you have to pay twice the price. If you want to be like Hugh Hefner and have double the fun at your fingertips, you need twice the bankroll. Although the twin-turbo setup is a dream even for this editor, at least I got to live the dream-if briefly-and take a ride on the wild side.