Anyone who has ever tried to modify a car can tell you that somewhere in the back of their minds, there’s a vision of them behind the wheel, passing a supercar. The team behind the Driven Media YouTube channel have proven that that’s possible.
In a series of videos that has been going since the summer, the team bought a Subaru Impreza WRX wagon and set about modifying it in an attempt to make it faster around a short track than a Lamborghini Murcielago.
The results of all of their hard work has finally been revealed in the video below, but before I spoil the results, I’ll give a brief rundown of what went into making this test possible.
Read: How Much Lap Time Can Semi-Slicks Offer A Clapped-Out Subaru?
The crew of the Driven Media channel (soon to be the Overdrive channel for legal reasons) was given $20,000 and the goal of beating a high-priced supercar, and they chose the Lamborghini Murcielago.
It’s 6.5-liter V12 engine makes up to 661 hp (493 kW/670 PS) in the highest SV trim, and, as host Will Chandler points out, “it’s doors go up, and it’s pointy,” making it not just a purebred Italian supercar, but an object of desire, too.
Up against it, the team brought a modified “blob eye” Subaru Impreza WRX wagon. To help it compete, they fitted better tires, improved coilover suspension, took out every non-essential part to cut weight, and tuned the engine to help it make 304 hp (227 kW/308 PS).
Despite all of those modifications, the team was still $6,000 under budget, giving it an opportunity to keep modifying if it didn’t beat the Lamborghini. As it turns out, though, they didn’t need a second chance. On a single lap of the tight track, the Subaru managed to be 2.7 seconds faster than the V12 supercar, proving once and for all that it is possible to modify your way past a Lamborghini (as long you don’t care about comfort or friends).