UK Firm's Kinda, Sorta Wants to Recreate Subaru WRX Concept…But Not Really

The name is Bond, Michael Bond, and he is the founder and owner of a UK company called Rumbler that is purportedly planning to recreate the looks of the striking 2013 Subaru WRX Concept on the production WRX with a project codenamed “Concept 13”.

To my knowledge, Subaru has only confirmed a limited number of units of the WRX STI (and not the WRX) for Britain, but Rumbler says it will “by-pass the normal supply channels to import additional models specifically for the Concept 13 project”. How that’s possible and if Subaru UK will allow it, is something I do not know.

But what exactly will Rumbler do to the production car to make it look more like the study we all loved? Well, here’s what the press blurb states:

“It will restyle the WRX body to reflect the original Subaru concept around the nose and tail and recreate its sophisticated modern design style. Although little can be done with the bulk of the body every customer will also be given tuning options for the engine to raise performance above the standard model from 350 bhp upwards to a maximum potential of 1,000 bhp depending on the customer’s preference and budget.”

Leaving aside the insane horsepower figure coming from a company that, on its website, showcases drawings of a Batmobile Tumbler-inspired study and the Ultra-Smart Watch, the whole idea sounds vague, if you ask me, and let’s be honest; the concept looked great mostly because of its proportions and low-slung, coupe-like styling, both of which can’t be recreated without new sheetmetal from top to bottom. Deleting the rear wing and adding a new fascia and rear diffuser won’t really turn the WRX into the impressive concept, will it…

Right now, it’s only an idea with Rumbler stating that, “production will begin when we cross the threshold of fifty (50) confirmed orders. There is no upper limit,” and adding that, “At present the Concept 13 project is limited to the UK/British Isles (including Eire) but may be extended to other markets with sufficient demand”.

We know for a fact that Subaru has priced the WRX STI at £28,995 a pop in the UK – so if Bond is referring to the STI and not the plain WRX, that would mean an investment of at least £1.45 million (US$2.4 million) for the cars alone.

A visit to Rumbler’s website, where Michael Bond describes himself as “confidential escrow financial services agent” by day and a “technology designer, innovator and occasional writer” by night, will probably raise more questions than answers (i.e. this: “Acquiring The RUMBLER Sport Tank – FREE)”, at least until we see something tangible to back up the talk.  

By John Halas

PHOTO GALLERY

SUBARU WRX CONCEPT & PRODUCTION WRX STI