SPO Stage I WRX

I was not sure what to expect when we saw the two SPO WRXs being unloaded from a very large, very custom and very cool semi from Hog Haulers Inc. Unstreetable racecars? Powder puffed chrome-wheeled show cars? Cars as street legal as crack? What rolled off, however, were two of the more streetable cars there. The substantial haul from SPO's headquarters in Portland, Ore., convinced owner Scott Orem to have the cars transported in this manner.

SPO brought out both its Stage I and II cars; the less powerful, but perhaps more thoroughly modified example is what you see here. The car serves as a rolling showroom for SPO Motorsports and features only parts available for purchase. In fact, both cars were completed in just two days. SPO Motorsports is the exclusive North American distributor of both Australia's AVO Turboworld and Japan's SYMS Racing Parts; this WRX features products from both. AVO Turboworld is well known for its work on everything from Subarus and Skylines to turbo kits for Miatas and Hondas.

This WRX certainly made the boldest visual statement of any car there, dripping in special edition yellow and sporting a SYMS Racing double stack rear wing. Being anything but fast with a car like this would be criminal, and this WRX did not disappoint. While not turning the fastest times or producing the largest numbers in the test, the finished product made no compromises whatsoever, while providing an increase in every facet of performance.

The yellow WRX is equipped with SPO/AVO Turboworld's Stage I performance upgrade kit. This kit includes a turbocharger-back, 3-inch, mandrel-bent stainless-steel exhaust with integral high-flow 3-inch catalytic converter, a manually adjustable boost controller similar in design to the stock piece, a carbon-fiber engine dress up kit, drop-in K&N filter, a dash-mounted boost gauge in its own pod and features the optional carbon fiber airbox, sequential blow-off valve and upgraded, top-mount intercooler.

Surprisingly quiet, the SPO exhaust comes clear from the back of the turbo, acting as a downpipe as well, whose smooth mandrel bends likely contribute to the high bolt-on horsepower made by this car.

The carbon fiber intake box is fed cold air via a beautifully crafted, carbon-fiber scoop mounted over the passenger-side headlight. Like the exhaust, the blow-off valve is noticeable but not intrusive and adds a nice intimidation factor for cars in the lane next to you. The bar and plate type top mount intercooler is said to offer 50 percent better flow than stock, with less than a 1 psi pressure drop. With the highest horsepower car in the test running a stock intercooler, this mod is perhaps better saved for later stages, where the engine is flowing more air. With the boost set to 15 psi, the SPO stage I car made 182 hp and 171 lb-ft of torque.

Scott, an avid time trialer at Portand International Raceway, set up the car for lapping using a combination of SYMS Racing and SPO Motorsports products. SYMS Racing springs are wound over adjustable struts and the car features SPO's own zinc-coated sway bars, 22mm front and rear; the rear is adjustable. Toyo T1S tires, mounted on 17-inch Racing Sparco Tarmacs, evoke the car's extensive rally heritage. While not turning the fastest slalom time, remember that the SPO cars were on T1S tires, which while sticky, were the hardest tires of the bunch. The slalom times descend with the amount of tire stickiness, with the top three cars running DOT- legal race tires. Two-piece, 12.9-inch Brembo rotors are squeezed by Brembo Lotus four-piston aluminum calipers in the front, while cross-drilled stock rotors man the rears. That the SPO car did not offer the shortest stopping distance, at 123 feet, is again largely a function of tire stickiness.

My drive in the car would be a true test of the car's suspension travel, brakes and acceleration:

I flogged the car over winding mountain roads with three (terrified) passengers. The road, which started from the Pacific Coast Highway, was rife with camber and elevation changes, decreasing radius turns, mixed surfaces and often narrowed to one lane. Better suited for a kart than a large, four-door car, the road nonetheless made the WRX shine, despite my best effort to bottom out the Macpherson strut suspension or show some other flaw. The WRX, though lowered and damped by very stiff struts, remained planted, keeping the Toyos pressed firmly to the pavement. The shocks were set to almost their softest settings (1 of 4 in front, 2 of 8 in the rear), and still provided excellent damping with a ride sufficiently pliant for daily duties. Turn-in was immediate, and even when induced to power on understeer, the transition was gradual and very controllable. Although the car was not eager to rotate, tightening the rear bar (or choosing a larger rear bar; 22, 23 and 24mm bars are all offered) or being more aggressive with the brakes entering the corners would have likely achieved the desired result.

While not particularly firm, knowing the dimensionally gifted Brembo brakes were there was reassuring and they exhibited no fade, despite repeated use and a heavy payload. Acceleration off corners was linear and the throttle responsive; where the stock turbo engine falls flat at high rpm, the SPO car continued to pull to fuel cut. There were some issues with the clutch (with 30 percent more clamping power than stock) that are being addressed, but the chrome-moly flywheel at a scant 10 lb, was both enjoyable and perfectly driveable, requiring no thought on clutch engagement. Designed with perhaps a more mature buyer in mind, the 3-inch mandrel bent cat-back exhaust was the quietest of any car in the test. Just loud enough to be apparent, but refined enough to not be intrusive while cruising, it was obviously designed with daily driving in mind. The tip was nice and small, a refreshing foil to the melon launchers we see attached to the back of so many big bore (and little bore, for that matter) exhausts. Despite their cost (you could pick up a nice used Honda for the same pop), the Recaros gracing the front of the cabin were sublimely comfortable. With seemingly endless power adjustment, heating, cooling, air bladders and firm upper and lower lateral support, nothing more could be asked of a seat.

As equipped, our car had $12,665 worth of upgrades. While not cheap, these products combine to create a proven package whose components have been in testing for years on other continents and judging from this car, work darn well together. Removing items like the Recaro seats and SYMS Racing wing would knock many bills off this price tag while still leaving you with the go-fast stuff. Short of an M5, I can't think of too many cars available for purchase here that could haul four passengers up a mountain pass with such surefootedness and verve. Worried about turning more impressive numbers?