Subaru’s All-or-Nothing Ace

1:18 | $200

While we’re talking WRC, why not mark the very first year of the formula—1997—along with one of the most memorable team liveries of all time—Subaru’s blue and gold—and one of its most memorable drivers—the late, great Colin McRae. The Scotsman joined the Subaru World Rally Team as a rookie in 1993 (when they ran under FIA Group A regs) and landed on the podium in his very first event. Four races later, he would win, and he continued winning in every one of his six seasons with the team.

Some wags nicknamed him “McCrash” for his take-no-prisoners driving style; he preferred to drive all-out in pursuit of the win, and if he crashed or broke the car, so be it. That style endeared him to fans and served both him and Subaru well; he helped the team secure three consecutive Constructor’s titles from 1995 to ’97, and he won the driver’s title in ’95 as well—the youngest driver ever to do so. He finished second in 1996–97 to Tommi Mäkinen (the latter year by just a single point!), setting up a rivalry not only between the drivers but also between Mitsubishi and

Subaru that endures to this day. AUTOart’s model is a replica of McRae’s ’97 Monte Carlo car—the first race of the season and the first with the new WRC formula. Sadly, McRae’s car would retire with a mechanical failure, but teammate Piero Liatti would score his first career win at the event. AUTOart offers both versions in 1:18, and they are packed with details in the rigidly restricted 300hp turbocharged flat-4 engine, race suspension, and tons of chassis bracing needed to keep the cars together over the bumps and jumps of the WRC season.

AUTOart 1997 Subaru Impreza WRC Rally of Monte Carlo