Day One: Confirming the list of vehicles to be on display from yesterday -- all seven are here. Each of them drew attention from the SEMA Show attendees. The 1986 XT Coupe in the back of the display area was as popular as the rest.
We've covered the XT Coupe in some detail in our sister publication Drive and the Drive website (www.drive.subaru.com). Read its background and the initial plans for the car here.
Then we followed the progress of the car's restoration online via image galleries. Click for Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
We found out about the Coupe making its appearance at the SEMA Show only a few days prior to receiving the press release about it.
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Rally champion and record-holder David Higgins visited the Subaru display for a couple hours. He signed autographs and handed out posters. One female fan asked him to sign her boot!
Higgins had quite a year in American rallying in 2011. We've documented his performance in the Rally America National Championship in Journal entries and Drive Performance articles throughout the year. After six tightly contested stage rallies driving for Subaru Rally Team USA, Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew placed 1st in the championship. You also can find information about the season at www.rally-america.com and www.subaru.com/rally.
In addition, David Higgins competed in a round of Global RallyCross, X Games Rally, and the Mt. Washington Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb. There's a wrap-up of the season in the next issue of Drive Performance, scheduled to mail and go live on this website November 15. Drive Performance also spent several days on Mount Washington, where Higgins not only bested the other hillclimbers, but shattered the official record for climbing the mountain by almost 30 seconds.
The #75 Subaru WRX STI driven by Higgins on his quest for the National Championship is on display. Featured in images from throughout the season in Drive Performance and this website, #75 was built and fielded by Vermont SportsCar in partnership with Subaru of America.
Come back tomorrow for more!
-- Ric Hawthorne
