Subaru has just announced that it is pulling out from the World Rally Championships for 2009, leaving the motorsport it has been a part of since 1990. Moreover, the pullout leaves only two manufacturers on hand for the 2009 season: Ford and Citroen.

Prodrive is one of the most affected by the pullout. The engineering consultancy company introduced and helped make Subaru very competitive in rally racing over the last 18 years.

“Subaru’s departure from the World Rally Championship is a great loss as it is one of the sport’s icons,” said David Richards, chairman of Prodrive. “The Subaru World Rally Team has created true champions such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns and its absence will be felt by many the world over. Although this decision closes a significant chapter in Prodrive’s history, our focus now turns to the future.”

The announcement also comes a day after Suzuki pulled out its SX4 from the WRC. As it is, the current lineup for the WRC is quite shallow. It will be interesting to see how the WRC reacts to these developments. WRC without Subaru and Subaru out of the WRC. Now that sucks.

Source: Autocar

When it comes to the WRC, I’m an all-out Sabaru fan. I really can’t explain why but it’s something with Subaru and the old Imprezas that made me cheer for them. And just take a look that the Subaru WRC Concept unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The WRC concept sports a five-door design which now seems to be the trend for rally cars. Subaru engineers deemed this to help the overall structure and performance of the rally car. The shortened rear and front overhangs are supposed to minimize effects of inertia to quick and agile cornering. It’s got widened fenders, twin-exhausts and still that iconic blue rear wing spoilers.

It uses Subaru’s boxer engine that provides massive torque and handling. No numbers are available on the exact power of this engine but it is a Flat-4 Turbo. The WRC concept’s also equipped with the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive feature for better grip on different road surfaces – essential for powering and controlling a rally car.