Subaru unveil Impreza WRC2003 prototype.

This afternoon at the Paris Motorshow four times World Rally Champion Tommi M?kinen revealed a prototype of next year's Subaru Impreza World Rally Car - the WRC2003.

Unveiled alongside the latest versions of the high performance Subaru Impreza roadcar on which it is based, the WRC2003 prototype features a host of improvements designed to further increase its performance in the fiercely competitive 14-round World Rally Championship.

With revisions to the engine, roll-cage, body panels and aerodynamic package, the prototype is the latest evolution of the Impreza model, the first version of which made its WRC debut in 1993 on the Rally of Finland. The latest car is the result of a new integrated design process between Prodrive in the UK and Subaru in Japan, which uses common design and manufacturing systems to harness the engineering skills of both organisations.

"The WRC is now more competitive than ever before and winning rallies demands the very best at every stage. As far as I'm concerned this prototype represents another significant step forward in the development of the Impreza - it is absolutely on the cutting edge," explained 555 Subaru Team Principal David Lapworth. "We've been working on the project for around a year now, and have been involved with our colleagues at Subaru in Japan more closely than ever before."

"The design of the new road and rally car has been a two way process, with ideas passing backwards and forwards between our design teams. The result of this tandem approach is that changes have been made to the road car which in turn will help us win WRC events."

"The prototype features a number of improvements over the current model, for instance the bodyshell is lighter and stiffer, the aero package uses the air in a far more efficient way and the reduced frontal area makes the whole package more aerodynamic. There are many more improvements under the skin, but until the design is finalised we're remaining tight-lipped."

This prototype is the first full-scale example of the car, and we plan to begin testing work very soon ahead of next season. We expect to begin using the WRC2003 car for the first round of next year's season, the Monte Carlo Rally."