An Engine-Swapped Subaru WRX STI That Sounds Like a Porsche Surprised Everyone at the Olympus Rally

H6-Swapped Subaru STI Surprises at Olympus Rally Trevor Lyden The sound was unmistakable: a naturally aspirated flat-six's distinctive note, echoing through the forest of Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Any car enthusiast watching and listening would be liable to believe a Porsche 911 or 718 would soon barrel forth— but instead, a rock-chipped 2011 Subaru WRX STI with gravel tires and a rattling roll cage blasted by, helmed by Mark Piatkowski at the controls and Sara Nonack on the notes. No, this 2011 Subaru STI isn't really Porsche-swapped, even if it sounds like it.

Instead, the Subaru hatchback is the creation of Steven Redd Racing—a rally car builder and service group based in the Pacific Northwest—running a stock version of Subaru's 245-hp, EZ30 flat-six engine. The car has a rally pedigree of its own, but Piatkowski and Nonack were at the helm for the first time, with the STI on loan from Steven Redd Racing for Mark's national championship chase. Three days later, Piatkowski and Nonack pulled into the final control zone of the Olympus Rally , completing over 2oo stage miles and securing first in class and seventh place overall—even among a group of factory-supported Rally2 cars.

View this post on Instagram "It was just good to mix it up with cars that this car shouldn't be really mixing up with, and also mixing it up with the locals. I basically started the rally heads down. I don't usually build up my pace.

I just go really quick from the beginning, or at least try to," Piatkowski said to Road & Track . "We were fairly lucky. We had five or six hits with boulders that were on the racing line, so much so that the nose of the car jumped up.