Since winning three WRC World Championships before the turn of the century, Subaru has become synonymous with rally racing. Years before a Subaru Impreza WRX even finished a stage, an attempt was made to rally race a Subaru XT.
In 1985, a single Subaru XT was entered in Wynn’s Safari Australia against tough competition in the outback. The XT was a well-prepared car, but unfortunately suffered damage during one of the stages, and was unable to finish the event. In Japan, penny-racers of the rally car were even produced to commemorate that valiant attempt.
Some individuals have entered Subaru XTs in competition rallies since, but the Australian event still makes people wonder what could have been. If Subaru had teamed up with Prodrive (like it did in the glory years of WRC) and kept rally racing its Lancia Stratos look-alike.
