Growing up, one always hears the phrase “never judge a book by its cover”. Well in the case of
Scott Molitor’s 2000 Impreza 2.5 RS coupe, this statement is all too true. What may look like a
beefed up naturally aspirated Subaru on the outside, hides a turbocharged surprise under the
hood. “I’ve always loved the two door Subie. I’ve owned 240s, Galant VR4s, 2G DSMs, a turbo
Geo Tracker, ’04 STI, boosted Civics but I always liked the look of this car.”
The Largest obstacle is trying to stay innovative in this ever changing atmosphere of the car world
Scotty Molitor
After purchasing the car, the 2.5L NA engine wasn’t cutting it, and was ditched for a more
favorable EJ20. Still, after a while Scott craved more power and jumped on a deal for an EJ25
out of a ’06 STI with only 13K miles. After dropping in the new engine and a few more
modifications, Scott found out he could no longer compete in NASA’s Performance Touring
class. That meant he would have to change to NASA’s Super Touring class, which also meant he
would need more power.
Starting with a Suba Performance short block, the 2.5L bottom end was fitted with 9:1 CP
Pistons, Eagle Hbeam rods, and ACL Race Bearings. To get some more air flowing, the heads
received a bowl job thanks to Heads by Drew and the stock valve springs were shimmed. The
heart of the beast is a custom Mofab rotated turbo kit which features a Garrett GTX3582R turbo
with a .63 a/r housing and Tial MVS wastegate while cooling duties are handled by a Mofab
front mount intercooler and radiator. To prevent fuel starvation under hard cornering a Radium
Engineering surge tank with dual Walbro 255lph fuel pumps was installed along with 6AN
supply and return lines, Mofab fuel rails, ID1000cc injectors, and an Aeromotive fuel pressure
regulator. After all was said and done, the car put down 602 whp (479 uncorrected) at 25psi
thanks to the fine tuning by Mac Autosport. To help get this power to the ground, an ’04 STI
sixspeed transmission fitted with an Exedy Comp R twindisc clutch was bolted up, along with
an R180 rear differential.
Knowing the factory suspension wouldn’t stand a chance against this much power, Scott
overhauled all of the factory components. The stock hubs and axles were replaced with ’07 STI
units along with STI front and rear control arms and lateral links. Scott then called up BC Racing
to custom make a set of their inverted monotube coilovers with caster and camber plates and
stiffer spring rates for the track. To reduce body roll, Cusco sway bars were added front and rear
along with Mofab endlinks. Finally, all of the old sloppy rubber bushings were replaced with
urethane ones from Whiteline.
To get as much of a contact patch to the ground as possible, massive 18×10.5 +15 Enkei RPF1’s
with Nitto NT01 tires serve as the rollers. To get these to fit under the car, ZG fender flares were
added along with a carbon fiber hood, trunk, front lip, and custom roof skin to help shed some
pounds. Like most all track cars, the interior of this Subie was kept minimal with only the bare
necessities remaining. This includes a NASA certified 8point roll cage, Race Tech 4009hrc
drivers seat, Momo Start passenger seat, Race Quip harnesses, an ’04 WRX dash, Sparco steering
wheel, and Lexan windows.
Scott has built a tough, well-balanced machine, capable of handling anything thrown its way,
on and off the track. It’s a high-powered wolf in sheep’s clothing. So remember, think twice
before taking this car on in the streets, because looks can be deceiving.
