Subey-powered supercar

A two-seater Subaru sports car that tops 280km/h? Sounds great in principle, but it's unlikely to happen. However, here's the next best thing: the Prodrive-designed P2 sportster, which borrows its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive hardware from the Subaru Impreza STi.

Motorsport enthusiasts will be aware that UK-based Prodrive is the mob that builds Subaru's WRC (World Rally Championship) cars, and is therefore eminently qualified to conjure up a high-performance coupe such as the P2.

Although it's a fully working car, Prodrive says it has no plans to put the P2 into volume production. However, should a vehicle manufacturer approach the company to do so, it is expected that it would have a retail price of approximately £40,000 (about $94,000).

P2 was the brainchild of Prodrive chairman and chief executive, David Richards, who visualised it as a rolling showcase of the company's design and engineering capabilities.

Prodrive's philosophy behind the design of the car was "practical performance". Weighing just 1100 kg and with a power to weight ratio of more than 260kW/tonne, P2 is claimed to be capable of a sub-4.0sec 0-100km/h split and a maximum speed of 280km/h.

P2 uses a modified Subaru Impreza STi engine and all-wheel-drive hardware, which incorporate two of Prodrive's innovative technologies to enhance performance -- ALS (Anti-Lag System) and ATD (Active Torque Dynamics).

ALS is derived from the same system currently used on the Prodrive-designed Subaru World Rally Car, and is designed to keep the turbo on boost at low engine speeds. Prodrive claims this gives the car immediate throttle response and improved performance across the rev range.

To use this power more effectively, the P2 uses Prodrive's ATD system, which uses active centre and rear differentials to optimise the torque split between front and rear axles. If the car begins to understeer while on power, then more torque is pushed to the rear wheels; conversely, if it begins to oversteer, then drive is sent to the front wheels.

P2's exterior and interior styling were created by Peter Stevens, whose previous work includes the McLaren F1 and MG SV. His team produced a full scale clay model of the car to develop the styling and from this P2's composite body panels were formed.

The P2 chassis was originally based on a Subaru R1 (a four-seat minicar), which was completely re-engineered to give P2 its coupe styling and to accommodate the new engine and drivetrain.

Despite the focus on weight reduction, P2 doesn't eschew features such as a six-speaker stereo system, power steering and electric windows.

PRODRIVE P2 SPECIFICATIONS