Toyota Wants To Help Subaru Rejoin The World Rally Championship

A new report from rally publication Dirtfish suggests Subaru may be eyeing a return to the world of WRC, or at least that's what's been hinted at by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Some things just go together, at least in the minds of motorsport fans. Ferrari and Formula 1 are the most obvious, but for many, Subaru and the sport of rallying are synonymous. This is despite the fact that Subaru hasn't been in WRC, the topmost tier of the sport, since 2008. Moreover, Subaru hasn't won a WRC title since 2003 and isn't even in the top five most successful manufacturers to compete in the championship, although its dominance in American Rally Association championships can't be disputed.

But the enduring legacy of Colin McRae in his Impreza WRX and the fact that Subaru has continually marketed the WRX as a rally car for the road (even though it is not one) has had such a strong impact on society that the brand is synonymous with the sport. Now, a comeback is in the cards.

Speaking to Dirtfish at the Acropolis Rally Greece, Ben Sulayem confirmed he had been in talks with Toyota's Akio Toyoda about getting more OEMs involved in the WRC. It was during this conversation that Toyoda-san suggested Subaru could rejoin with help from Toyota.

"It's not a secret I had a good meeting with Mr Akio Toyoda, and I ask him what we can do [about enticing more manufacturers into the WRC] and I listened to someone who is passionate. And he mentioned Subaru," said Ben Sulayem.

According to the FIA president, "They [Toyota] are going to support an initiative of Subaru entering." He doesn't believe it to be just talk, either. "And I feel someone like him, when he speaks, he speaks with confidence."

Toyota has strong ties with Subaru, partially because it owns shares within it. The two also collaborate on product development in certain areas, with the most notable development being the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86 twins.

It was even rumored at one stage that a new Subaru WRX STI hot hatch might be built based on the Toyota GR Corolla.

While the latter is still unlikely, Subaru might be able to use a 1.6-liter Toyota engine. WRC's Rally1 Hybrid cars make use of 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines augmented by a hybrid system. Subaru doesn't have anything like that in its repertoire, and it was originally the downsizing in engine regulations that factored into the brand's departure from WRC. But Toyota seems happy to share an engine with Subaru.

"I see positive signs from the chairman of Toyota in convincing Subaru to come back and providing the engine, where Subaru's issue is with the engine," said Ben Sulayem.

The only remaining question is what form Subaru's rally car would take. Currently, teams use subcompact hatches and crossovers like the Toyota GR Yaris, Hyundai I20 N, and Ford Puma as the basis for their racers (in looks only, as they are scarcely related to the road cars) but Subaru's smallest global product is the Impreza hatchback.

Who knows, maybe we could see an Impreza with a Toyota engine tearing up the rally circuit in the near future, or maybe the Subaru WRX will once again become a real rally racer.