Popping the cherry!

It was a lazy Saturday morning and I wanted to get some simple DIY stuff done at Smart Tint. So off I went around 11a.m. and was on my merry way to install some sound proofing and a day's sound tuning was imminent. With my head in the car's trunk and going slightly deaf from the excessive sounds, I heard an ever familiar and distinct gurgle drive by, so I paid it no mind.

Moments later, my phone rang, and who was it but my buddy Chuah. He drove a KE70 and wanted me to have a test drive in his ride. Damn, after such a long absence from the RWD world, who was I to disagree? Not to mention I was puzzled by what he was up to again, this dude is just a bag of surprises. I quickly finished whatever padding that was left and packed up in a hurry. I drove over to Fer's shop and saw Chuah there waving and calling out to me, but a quick glance around showed no RWD machine anywhere in sight. But a yellow-on-blue vinyl job caught my eye.
Lo and behold, Chuah had gotten tired of repairing his old junker and had just thrown in the gloves to a Version 7 Subaru Impreza STI~! A test drive was of course warranted and I was simply blown away by its handling prowess! It's chassis was extremely obedient and it's stock suspension setup was pliant for everyday commute yet stiff enough for a touge enthusiast. I took a lap, then another, then another... I simply forgot the route home!
Mark and Ray showed up with their SLRs practically glued to their palms and with their trigger finger snapping, we were off for an afternoon of shooting.

A bug eye's view, or a bug's eye view??? You tell me :)

Profile shot shows it's muscularly macho haunches.

It just looks so beefed up and makes you wanna put on jeans and a leather jacket then go out for some curry, a few pints and a fight!

STI badging shows it's something special.

I somehow, weirdly, just love the view from this vantage point.

Our photographers for the day were hard at work and from diverse angles. I can't wait to get pics from them! Owner was "ponna" happy with the work done.

Face off, squint-eye vs bug-eye!

Clean and simple interior signature of an Impreza.

Clean (believe it or not, this is clean for a boxer layout engine bay) and stock looking engine bay.

Subaru's little forget-me-not whilst you pop your hood.

And this is my all time fav feature of the Impreza, frameless doors... And there are 4 of 'em!!!

Much thanks to Chuah for the excellent time behind the wheel of your STI. It was my virgin run and it was such a lap, the level of grip it muster's is just unbelievable. The memory of popping the proverbial 4WD cherry, in an STI, will be one to be cherished!

More fantastic shots at Ray's blog, which can be found here.