Subaru obliterates Isle of Man lap record with stock WRX STI

[Rania Elhoseny]

We talk about the Nürburgring a lot, but perhaps it's time we start devoting more ink to the Isle of Man. Located between Great Britain and Ireland, the tiny bit of green plays host to one of the most impressive displays of speed on the planet.

The annual Isle of Man TT plays out on a 37.8-mile course made up of public roads, which are closed down during race days. It's run by motorcyclists, and crazy sonsofbitches skilled pilots can complete the loop in under 18 minutes. Curious how long it would take an automobile to run the same course? Back in 1990, driver Tony Pond was curious as well, and he pushed a Rover 827 Vitesse around the island in 21 minutes, becoming the first driver to average 100 miles per hour in a car on the course.

Subaru decided to have a go at that record, and sent a WRX STI sedan and driver Mark Higgins to the Isle of Man. The car is a stock STI, with the exception of a roll-cage, race harness, fire extinguisher and adjusted springs and dampers to handle the various bumps found on the public roadway. How'd Higgins do? He smashed Pond's record by two minutes, with a time of 19:56.7 and an average speed of 113 miles per hour. Higgins stated, "Setting the record was both the most exhilarating and the most frightening thing I have ever done." We believe you, and we salute you Mr. Higgins, on a rather impressive bit of driving.

Click past the jump for the full press release and more information on the record-setting run.