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Written by Jack Rix
Mark Higgins is already the fastest man on four wheels to lap the Isle of Mann TT course, but like any proper" racing driver, he lives to go faster still. In 2011 and 2014 he navigated the 37.7-miles road course, normally associated with banzai superbikes, at an average of 115.4mph (including his now infamous 150mph tank-slapper) and 117.5mph respectively in what was essentially a stock 300bhp WRX STI, with a roll cage and tougher brakes and suspension fitted. Impressive numbers, clearly, but this year, for his third attempt, he"s got the tool he always wanted.Subaru has teamed up with Prodrive the company behind its former WRC success to build a $700,000 monster designed specifically to destroy the TT circuit and tailored to Higgins" specific requirements. Because it needn"t comply with FIA rules for any particular formula, the donor car is a US-spec WRX STI transplanted with the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine from Prodrive"s old WRC car, but turned up to 600bhp and 590lb ft of torque enough for 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and an 180mph top speed. The gearbox alone, an Xtrac six-speed sequential capable of 20ms shifts, is worth 40,000 while the suspension is WRC-spec but set lower and mounted next to Dunlop Maxx touring car slicks.According to Richard Thompson, Prodrive"s senior rally engineer, it"s 60 per cent rally car, 40 per cent race car. "It"s all about taking our WRC know-how, and bending the WRC rules. Put all our experience in a mixing bowl and this is what comes out." That wing, for example is unfeasibly wide and fitted with a hydraulic DRS system that flattens it out on the high-speed sections of the course saving around 40bhp in drag at the 180mph top speed. Question is, how fast can Higgins go? "Well that"s the question I"m not going to answer really," he tells us. "I think I"ve got a target in my head. The 120s are the first thing we"ve got to break. We"ve done 117.5mph 2.5mph doesn"t sound like a lot but it actually equates to almost half a minute for the lap."One of the Prodrive engineers suggests that with this new car they could be within touching distance of the bike lap record, currently held by Higgins" good friend John McGuiness on a Honda CBR1000RR at 132.7mph. "The problem you"ve got with the TT is that where you"ve got a straight line for a bike, you"ve got a corner for us. So although we"re quicker around the corners, we"ve got more of them."The other thing is I"ve only ever had six flying laps around there. That"s why John McGuiness is so fast on the bike he"s got so many laps, he knows the bike and there"s nothing like experience on the TT course. So I"m the most experienced car driver out there, but I"ve still done very few laps."We joined three-time British rally champion Higgins at Bicester Heritage, a former RAF bomber station, for the final shakedown before the car and team head off to chase the record during TT week. And for a man that"s only driven his new toy a handful of times, Higgins is supremely confident at the wheel, as we observe first hand from the passenger seat.The acceleration is predictably immense, but it"s Higgins" fluid car control that really shines smooth transitions that mean the car is invariably under full acceleration or hard on the brakes, but never feels anything other than perfectly balanced. Another thing that sticks out is the sound or lack of it. The exhausts has silencers fitted for today, but Higgins reassures me it"ll be deafening when it"s uncorked on the island.As he yanks the handbrake and carves out yet another perfect four-wheel drift in front of a bank of camera phones on the pit wall, I ask him if it"ll be hard to resist indulging in sideways stuff on race day. "I"ve done circuit racing as well, and rallying on tarmac, and you don"t go sideways. No, it"s not hard to change your driving mode sideways is slow, but it is fun."Mark Higgins will be attempting to keep things tidy and smash his own TT lap record on 19 minutes 15 seconds on June 10. Check back then to see how he gets on.Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 3 Jun 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3736
Mark Higgins is already the fastest man on four wheels to lap the Isle of Mann TT course, but like any proper" racing driver, he lives to go faster still. In 2011 and 2014 he navigated the 37.7-miles road course, normally associated with banzai superbikes, at an average of 115.4mph (including his now infamous 150mph tank-slapper) and 117.5mph respectively in what was essentially a stock 300bhp WRX STI, with a roll cage and tougher brakes and suspension fitted. Impressive numbers, clearly, but this year, for his third attempt, he"s got the tool he always wanted.Subaru has teamed up with Prodrive the company behind its former WRC success to build a $700,000 monster designed specifically to destroy the TT circuit and tailored to Higgins" specific requirements. Because it needn"t comply with FIA rules for any particular formula, the donor car is a US-spec WRX STI transplanted with the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine from Prodrive"s old WRC car, but turned up to 600bhp and 590lb ft of torque enough for 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds and an 180mph top speed. The gearbox alone, an Xtrac six-speed sequential capable of 20ms shifts, is worth 40,000 while the suspension is WRC-spec but set lower and mounted next to Dunlop Maxx touring car slicks.According to Richard Thompson, Prodrive"s senior rally engineer, it"s 60 per cent rally car, 40 per cent race car. "It"s all about taking our WRC know-how, and bending the WRC rules. Put all our experience in a mixing bowl and this is what comes out." That wing, for example is unfeasibly wide and fitted with a hydraulic DRS system that flattens it out on the high-speed sections of the course saving around 40bhp in drag at the 180mph top speed. Question is, how fast can Higgins go? "Well that"s the question I"m not going to answer really," he tells us. "I think I"ve got a target in my head. The 120s are the first thing we"ve got to break. We"ve done 117.5mph 2.5mph doesn"t sound like a lot but it actually equates to almost half a minute for the lap."One of the Prodrive engineers suggests that with this new car they could be within touching distance of the bike lap record, currently held by Higgins" good friend John McGuiness on a Honda CBR1000RR at 132.7mph. "The problem you"ve got with the TT is that where you"ve got a straight line for a bike, you"ve got a corner for us. So although we"re quicker around the corners, we"ve got more of them."The other thing is I"ve only ever had six flying laps around there. That"s why John McGuiness is so fast on the bike he"s got so many laps, he knows the bike and there"s nothing like experience on the TT course. So I"m the most experienced car driver out there, but I"ve still done very few laps."We joined three-time British rally champion Higgins at Bicester Heritage, a former RAF bomber station, for the final shakedown before the car and team head off to chase the record during TT week. And for a man that"s only driven his new toy a handful of times, Higgins is supremely confident at the wheel, as we observe first hand from the passenger seat.The acceleration is predictably immense, but it"s Higgins" fluid car control that really shines smooth transitions that mean the car is invariably under full acceleration or hard on the brakes, but never feels anything other than perfectly balanced. Another thing that sticks out is the sound or lack of it. The exhausts has silencers fitted for today, but Higgins reassures me it"ll be deafening when it"s uncorked on the island.As he yanks the handbrake and carves out yet another perfect four-wheel drift in front of a bank of camera phones on the pit wall, I ask him if it"ll be hard to resist indulging in sideways stuff on race day. "I"ve done circuit racing as well, and rallying on tarmac, and you don"t go sideways. No, it"s not hard to change your driving mode sideways is slow, but it is fun."Mark Higgins will be attempting to keep things tidy and smash his own TT lap record on 19 minutes 15 seconds on June 10. Check back then to see how he gets on.Share this page: FacebookTwitterGoogle+WhatsAppMailtoCopy link
Date written: 3 Jun 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3736
