Vermont SportsCar (VSC) has supported Subaru Motorsports USA’s rally and rallycross efforts for several years with great success. However, competing in these sanctioned events comes with rules and regulations.
VSC’s engineers and designers operate within these constraints, but let them loose and they can produce something truly awesome.
Case in point: the Airslayer (2020 Subaru WRX STI) and Family Huckster (1982 Subaru GL). Both machines were built strong for the rigours of Gymkhana videos, with Travis Pastrana behind their wheels in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
The Airslayer and Huckster have been a mainstay of the Goodwood Festival of Speed for some years, always in contention for the fastest time up the hill during Sunday’s shootout. So when I received an email from Vermont SportsCar a few months back asking whether I could photograph Subaru Motorsports USA’s efforts at the 2024 event with a brand-new car alongside the Family Huckster, my interest was instantly piqued. Of course, I said yes.
As we all now know, that new car was Project Midnight – a modern interpretation of a Group B car built from a rally-spec 2024 WRX. Rallycross champion and all-round Subaru Motorsports USA ace Scott Speed was brought out to the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed to drive it.
Thursday’s early start at Goodwood Estate saw the Subaru Motorsports USA pit buzzing with activity. The team approached the event like any competitive rally event, and each member was focused on their role.
Dan Farley, Powertrain Department Manager, was in the driver’s seat, running Project Midnight through warm-up procedures. These steps are the same every time, ensuring that any drivetrain issues are caught early. Once the gearbox and engine are up to operating temperature, boost control and the anti-lag system are tested.
Caution: Being near the WRX during this process risks deafness, burns, or both.
In contrast to the Family Huckster’s bright white paint and colourful graphics, Project Midnight’s all-black exterior looks menacing. It’s reminiscent of Lockheed Skunkworks projects like the U2, SR-71, and F-117 – each a pinnacle of altitude, speed, or stealth. The WRX looked so intimidating in its bare carbon fibre body that the team decided to retain the look and paint it satin black.
The Festival of Speed provided one of the first opportunities to get close to the car and give a detailed breakdown, so I couldn’t let it pass me by.
Starting with similar underpinnings of the Airslayer, the Subaru Motorsports USA team left no aspect untouched.
The main visual change is the adoption of the 2024 WRX body shell – but with massive carbon composite wheel arches extending 100mm beyond the stock width on each side.
Lightweight 18×11-inch magnesium wheels wrapped in Yokohama Advan slicks provide a sticky contact patch to put the power to the ground at all four corners.
To harness that power, Alcon brake callipers grab 350mm front and 320mm rear discs with Endless pads, complemented by 3-way adjustable dampers, custom arms, and hubs.
With downforce being a priority, the carbon fibre rear wing is the same design as the current Subaru Motorsports USA rally car, but much larger.
This is paired with a front splitter and canards up front. The underside is flat, with all heavy skid plates removed and replaced with more carbon composite. Noticing a pattern?
All these modifications result in a weight well under 2,500lbs (1,120kgs), making Project Midnight around 300lbs lighter than the Airslayer and 1,000lbs lighter than a standard WRX.
Inside, the focus is purely functional. A small dash display relays vital data, while a gear indicator resides on the steering column. A hydraulic handbrake may seem out of place for now, but I imagine it will see some use in due course.
The PDM and Cosworth ECU are within easy reach, and a Tilton adjustable pedal box resides in the footwell.
While engine details remain under wraps, the Vermont SportsCar-designed 2.0L boxer engine revs to 9,500rpm and produces 670hp and 680lb-ft of torque, with more power likely in reserve. A hood-exit exhaust ensures the car sounds the part.
Cooling is handled by PWR heat exchangers: an intercooler in the engine bay and a rear-mounted radiator. Massive intakes on the rear doors channel cool air to the radiator, which exits through ducting underneath the car.
Over the 2024 Festival of Speed weekend, Scott and the team meticulously built their pace. In between runs, videos of previous runs were reviewed, and car setup was discussed, with adjustments made when required.
As always, the event culminated with the Sunday Shootout, where the fastest cars of the weekend compete for Goodwood’s ‘King of the Hill’ title.
Running in order of slower cars first, eventually, it was time for Travis’s run in the Family Huckster. Despite giving his all on the dust-covered course, he slid into the hay bales at Molecomb. Travis was gracious, apologising and admitting he simply came into the corner too hot.
All eyes turned to Scott and Project Midnight. From the launch there was little doubt he was pushing, threading the needle to control the Subaru up the hill. A minor slide on the corner where Travis went off was the only real drama. Scott’s experience in single-seaters shone through with a fast, smooth run.
He crossed the line at 46.09 seconds – a very fast time. However, it wasn’t enough to beat Romain Dumas, who claimed victory with a 43.98-second run in Ford’s electric Supervan 4.2.
While the outright win eluded Subaru Motorsports USA this year, claiming the honour of the fastest internal combustion-powered car up the hill is still a significant achievement, especially considering the relatively limited budget and timescale to develop Project Midnight.
Rest assured, this result hasn’t discouraged the team. Instead, it’s given them an excuse to return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2025 with something even more radical.
Chaydon Ford
Instagram: chaycore
Photography by Chaydon Ford for Subaru Motorsports USA
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great article like always
Is this the first ever VB WRX to feature on Speedhunters??!!
Well, yes, however it's really not a real VB it's a VSC rally build, but anyway!
The car looks and sounds mean, that's for sure. For promotional purposes, perhaps it could have been done in WRB (World Rally Blue), their signature colour, as the all-black thing is quite overdone now.
Custom hubs! I wonder what they used - The VB is difficult for brakes because of their altered hub design from all those WRX previous.
I think it may be the first for a full feature. The hubs will be completely custom billet machined pieces, in no way interchangeable with OEM arms/brakes etc.
Imagine doing all that work then some guy in a 90s formula Atlantic shows up with a Chinese turbo k20 swap and deregulated side skirts and you get smoked for $60,000 including car. That would suck.
You could name a dozen cars that could/would/should be quicker, so all you've done is state the obvious. It would be competing in a different class because it is wildly different to the Subaru.
Seeing both sides to this, Omgon...Subi isn't totally left field. It's understandable Subaru needs to fund efforts like these to sell their obsolete sedans but do we really need this?
Honest. This doesn't excite me much, I came here to check out the aerodynamic designs and strategies employed on a compromised, massive air puncher to make it... Ugh crap... Just smash some hay. I would feel sorry, but these guys are getting old and need to evolve, and this is reality cashing its' check nonchalantly. It only charges more from here...
The rotary McLaren on the other hand has merits, despite a hideous bodykit, but it answered the awesome question of "what if" analog legend powered a new carbon tub with now-accessible parts, materials, and tech. For that... Thanks old dudes, welcome to hang with those ideas for sure.
Sedans tho... Why? Enough of the hyped up, stamped out, cost/politically compromised lifestyle appliances. We got it, money makes anything fast enough to crash, thanks. Next.
Uh, because they only make sedans? Because they have been racing sedans for decades? This was built without compromise, it’s not currently being raced as far as I know. A Subaru will never be as flashy as a McLaren but this actually does have merit. That’s why it ran the timed shootout as opposed to the rotary McLaren.
No one posting here is likely to be tone deaf to Subaru's heritage, duh, but the issue stands: why is Subaru still tryhard with the Impreza, when they had the 86 and have ample market space to produce a REAL sports car? At what point will Subaru wake up to see the sedan/people mover space has been wrung out and now best served as a BEV? Rally isn't what it used to be nor are motorsports fans clamoring for some watered down, liability-flooded reality of a series today... So instead of abandoning the BRZ and Halo cars so they can waste much cash making this flippy camel, actually get serious on a sports car? Return of the 2 door, anyone? How about getting into hypercar series? At this rate, Subaru will either go the way of Nissan, or see itself copying Mazda or Tesla just to stay alive or even relevant.
This machine is fine and well but had they at least hawk twad a turbo flat four e-trans hybrid with a "manual" into an old race chassis, at least there would be something to be excited about. Toyota swallowed this and we'll see which manufacturer makes it past 2030...
"we'll see which manufacturer makes it past 2030..."
I'll help you out here. They all will.
You managed to type whole paragraphs of words but somehow still were unable to say anything. I'm not even mad, I'm impressed.
Wow. You must be a prophet. English can be hard, but a genuine conversation is what you didn't comprehend. Try again dude
You're cute.
It's hard to be mad at somebody who just doesn't get it. One day you will grow up young one. We can have a genuine conversation then.
Great Race! Despite the Ford Electric Van winning, I am definitely partial to the Subaru Midnight. Me and my Wife have owned Subaru's for years. Good Luck to all the Subaru Motorsports Team... rc/vc
Far from the wildest Subaru WRX. Pretty cool build though.
Subaru needs to work hard to make its WRX competitive. I just watched "Sam Car legion" and in stock form this car was out dragged by the 1.6lt Corolla GR, Hyundai N and Acura TLX S (both 2 lt). How can one explain it rationally that the 1.6 lt GR Corolla beat the 2.4lt (folks that is 50% bigger engine displacement) WRX. In Europe the 2lt AMG A45s Produces 415 hp and this 2.4 lt Subaru only manages 271 Hp. To say it is pathetic is an understatement.
The 310kW AMG is nearly 3x the price of a Subaru. The AMG engine is hand-built exotic engine componentry.
The GR uses 25 pounds boost to get their little 1.6 to a similar power figure as WRX does with 12 pound boost. That's how it is "explained rationally" - the GR engine is maxxed out. The FA24 WRX engine therefore has plenty of room left for power upgrades, if one were to do so, unlike the GR (plus WRX engine bay space is ample to do side mount turbo, etc).
If you modify it then the warranty is no longer valid. OK compare it to the 10 year old Evo X which produces more power and torque from a 400CC smaller displacement. Compare it to the S2000 (over 2 decades old) and the NA Honda has a higher specific output. Point is this WRX is under power no matter how you try to defend it. The fact that Subaru only allows 12 pound boost could be that the engine internal can not withstand as much boost as the GR. To me this WRX is a loser.
The wrx isn’t really competing with those cars. The sti used to but they stopped building it. The wrx is just a reliable 4 door awd car that is very capable.
You are defending something which may or may not have its potential to be realized. Yes the WRX was built to compete with say the VW GT! which produces more torque and more horsepower PER LITER! End of argument.
the engine is capable of more power but I believe it is limited due to the cvt transmissions they are using.
Haha Nate. Shut your cock holster and go build another beetle like a 13 year old can do. You’re such a phag
It’s more than you can do buckwheat
I run equal to Popp in a stock 335i bro. Lmao. Look at the SLS thread commend section. Ur nobooooooddyyyyyyyyy.
Subaru has seriously lost its way after Mitsubishi killed off the Lancer. Without real competition, Subaru just forgot what made their brand so great in the first place.
"Meet The World’s Wildest Subaru WRX"
Sorry... No it's not... It doesn't even come close...
Roger Clark! That’s what’s up!
Engine bay shots? What are those waste of an article
As mentioned in the article, the engine bay is not something Subaru want to make public yet, likely due to some new parts in development. These were the only shots OK'd by one of the senior team members that could be shown at this point.
Amazing car and time up the hill. Love the quality of design and build. Great article, thanks