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The Subaru brand, with its distinctive deep blue and bright yellow colour scheme, is almost synonymous with rallying - and for good reason. The sport has helped it evolve from a favourite with farmers for its dependable and sturdy estates into a performance brand that is a match for many of its European rivals. In turn, that popularity on the road has helped evolve the rallying myth and a succession of star drivers, including Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae, Richard Burns and now Petter Solberg further honed the legend.

Prodrive started the ball rolling in 1990 with the Legacy, before switching to the more rally-friendly Impreza in 1993. Double champion Carlos Sainz and rising British star Colin McRae gradually became more and more successful as the car was honed, with McRae taking a first world title for both himself and the team in a dramatic 1995 season. Sainz left at the end of that year, but McRae led the team to second in the standings in 1996 as the focus turned to the new World Rally Car rules that were introduced in 1997.

Subaru was at the forefront as rallying's new rules allowed more dramatic-looking evolutions of road cars to be built, and won the 1997 opener in Monte Carlo with its new Impreza WRC, thanks to asphalt ace Piero Liatti. With Kenneth Eriksson also continuing, Subaru's drivers were quick enough to win eight rallies and the manufacturers' title, but not the drivers' crown. In 1998 McRae once again finished second in the drivers' title chase as Subaru struggled to match Japanese rival Mitsubishi, and the Scot opted to go to Ford for 1999.

Richard Burns moved from Mitsubishi to join new signing Juha Kankkunen and finished second in the drivers' chase, but Subaru suffered a trying 2000 as it failed to match Peugeot. In 2001, with multiple champ Tommi Makinen and young guns Petter Solberg and Markko Martin on the books, the drivers' title went the way of Burns, but the Brit was on his way to Peugeot, and Martin on his way to Ford. Subaru kept setting the pace in 2002 as Solberg emerged as a title contender, while Makinen provided solid back-up once more.

The young Norwegian scorched his way to four wins and the drivers' crown in 2003, while Makinen continued to prove his class as a solid foil in the second car in his final year before retirement. Citroen had pipped Subaru to the manufacturers' crown, however, and, despite Solberg winning five rallies in 2004, the French marque and rising star Sebastien Loeb proved to be too much and denied the Japanese marque the chance to take either title. So much success in recent years, however, has left the team eager to make up for that in 2005.

 

Prospects for 2004

The team was suddenly forced to re-evaluate its strategy for this season after it emerged that Richard Burns would not be well enough to drive. His replacement - young, but highly talented Finn Mikko Hirvonen - has a lot to learn and is unlikely to bring home the big points. Solberg, however, has matured tremendously, and is anxious to win back-to-back world titles.

 

2003

Subaru carried Petter Solberg to his first drivers' title, taking four rally wins on the way. Both Subaru and Solberg benefited from the experience of four-time world champion Tommi Makinen, and it's clear that the latest generation of Impreza is a force to be reckoned with. One Achilles heel remains, which is the car's performance on dry asphalt. The Pirelli tyres help it achieve a lot in the wet, but in the dry it still falls slightly short. But there's a strong tradition of radical engineering at Subaru, which pushes the technical barriers constantly forward.

 

2002
The year began with a win for Tommi Makinen and ended with Petter Solberg's debut WRC victory. In between? Solberg had the measure of his more experienced team-mate for much of the season and finished in a deserved second place.Makinen was his former self on Rally Argentina until a huge crash on the final day put paid to adding to his 24 wins.
 

2001
Early season teething troubles with the new Impreza 44S left Richard Burns lagging drastically in the drivers' championship and convinced him to join Peugeot for 2002, a situation that even his subsequent phoenix-like charge to an unlikely title would not change. His only win came in New Zealand, but he was a factor in the lead battle on every gravel round from early summer and this consistent form saw him pip title rivals Colin McRae and Tommi Makinen. Petter Solberg spent much of the early season crashing, but then matured rapidly and proved beyond doubt he'dl be a star of the future. Markko Martin's limited programme denied him a chance to make the same impact, but he shone on most of his appearances. Fourth driver Toshi Arai was generally inconspicuous everywhere bar Cyprus, where he took an impressive fourth.

 

2000
Prodrive introduced a radically different model, the WRC2000, on the fourth event of the year, but, while it was a quicker car, it also suffered niggles that blighted the third quarter of the season. As a result, Richard Burns' title bid slid off the rails and team-mate Juha Kankkunen - who found the car hard to drive on the limit - lost interest altogether. The team invested in the future by signing two youngsters, Petter Solberg and Markko Martin, before the end of the year.
 

1999
Transitional year after Colin McRae's departure, but the combination of Richard Burns and Juha Kankkunen proved a potent one (third driver Bruno Thiry was dropped by the second half of the season). There were occasional fireworks between the young Briton and the Finnish veteran (notably in Argentina, when team orders were disobeyed), but Burns' late-season charge was enough to take him to second place
in the drivers' championship title race.
 

1998
Subaru stuck with Colin McRae and Piero Liatti, but the Italian began to feel unloved as Prodrive put its efforts firmly behind McRae's drivers' title hopes. As a result, Liatti was rarely a threat. McRae, though, was a contender until the penultimate round, when a rare Impreza turbo failure robbed him of victory in Australia. The famous pairing of Scot and Subaru ended with a whimper, thanks to a blown engine on the Rally GB.
 

1997
Subaru started the World Rally Car era by claiming the first victory, in Monte Carlo, with its stunning Impreza. Its driver line-up of Colin McRae, Piero Liatti and Kenneth Eriksson was strong enough to win eight rallies and lift the manufacturers' crown for the third year in succession, but none of the drivers managed to string together enough form to claim their own title. Subaru drive of the year probably came from McRae, who put in a mature performance to win the Safari.
 

1996
Colin McRae and Kenneth Eriksson were joined by Piero Liatti for the 1996 season. A strong finish brought McRae into second in the title race, but three accidents denied him a second crown. But the Impreza was still a decent enough package to win its second manufacturers' title in a row.

Pre 1996
Subaru wanted to change its image from a mud-plugger for farmers to a cult performance marque. Prodrive wanted a develop a relationship with a manufacturer in the world championship. Together, they launched the Legacy programme in 1990, then switched to the Impreza in late 1993. It was with this model that real success came, driven on by intense rivalry between Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz. The Scot came out on top in a fiery 1995 season to win the world title.

 
TEAM PRINCIPAL: David Lapworth

DRIVERS: Petter Solberg - Stephane Sarrazin - Chris Atkinson

CAR: Impreza WRC
BASED: Banbury, England
ESTABLISHED: 1989
FIRST WRC WIN: New Zealand 1993

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
2004: Petter Solberg takes second in drivers' title; Subaru finishes third in the manufacturers' standings
2003: Petter Solberg wins his first drivers title, but Citroen pips Subaru in the manufacturers' title chase
2002: Subaru drivers Tommi Makinen and Petter Solberg win in Monte Carlo and GB, but team fails to take a title
2001: Departing Richard Burns wins the drivers' title, but Subaru falls short in the manufacturers' chase
2000: Subaru takes third place in the manufacturers' standings with Richard Burns and Juha Kankkunen
1999: Three wins for Richard Burns help him to second in the drivers' standings
1998: Two wins for the departing Colin McRae make him a contender in the drivers' title fight
1997: Drivers Colin McRae, Piero Liatti and Kenneth Eriksson take eight wins and help Subaru to clinch a third manufacturers' title
1996: Subaru takes its second manufacturers' title, while Colin McRae finishes second in the drivers' chase
1995: Colin McRae wins the drivers' title, while the Subaru team clinches its first manufacturers' title
1994: Colin McRae wins in New Zealand, Australia and GB with the new Impreza
1993: Colin McRae wins in New Zealand with the Legacy. Richard Burns wins the British title