With the glamor of the Goodwood Festival of Speed behind us, car enthusiasts in Britain will no doubt turn their attention to the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power. This annual event is held at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire.

At this year’s event, which runs from July 15 to 17, a very special Subaru is hoping to take the crown as the fastest car on this challenging 1.2-mile track. This special Subaru is an Impreza STi that has been tuned by Cosworth. The model is called the STi CS400 and produces 395-hp. Apart from the power gain over the standard model, the car also gets lighter 18-inch wheels by Pro-Race, and six-piston caliper brakes by AP Racing.

Taking the fastest car crown at this track won’t be easy, since there will be some other fast machines hoping to take the glory. Cars such as the Ariel Atom V8, Lamborghini Gallardo LP-570-4 Performante, and the McLaren MP4-12C are just some of the other cars taking part. Last year, a Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera set the fastest time ever on this circuit with a time of 62.68 seconds.

To give the Cosworth STi its best chance of winning, the car will be piloted by British Rally Champion Mark Higgins. He recently set the fastest timed lap of the Isle of Man TT circuit in a Impreza STi. So they have the right man for the job, but will the car deliver? That we have to wait and see.

With seven years of roaming the streets (in Japan), the second generation Subaru Impreza body became a familiar sight to many. And now that the third generation Impreza STi is out, we’re expecting to see less and less of the second gen bodies. But leave it to the crazy tuners in Japan to come up with this idea: taking a second generation model and outfit it with a front end from the the current model.

Some of us here at AutoGuide think it’s just too weird. The second-gen STi is notorious for its boxy shape and large headlights while the new generation is more streamlined and bubbly. Pairing the two together doesn’t quite flow well. (Some other crazy folks here in the office are big fans and made me write this sentence).

Complementing the transformation is also a full body kit from Charge Speed, which definitely gives the car a much sportier and more aggressive profile. Thumbs up for being unique, but much like the R35 front end on an R34 Skyline, we think they should belong on their respective bodies.

GALLERY: Car Service Hiro Converted Subaru Impreza STi

[Source: Farm Of Minds]

We were really excited when we started reading Subaru’s latest SEMA press release, as it listed things like a 400-hp WRX STI, the word’s “rally-prepped” and “Ken Block.” That was all well and good, but entirely too normal for a SEMA show car. And that’s what we discovered upon continued reading as we downloaded the solitary photo from Subaru’s media site. Yikes!

Along with all that good stuff, is a truly SEMA-rific TRAX system, provided by Mattracks, which replaces the car’s tires for some even more serious off-roading.

The car was built by Subaru Rally Team USA’s technical partner, Vermont SportsCar, and features a stripped down shell, roll cage, carbon fiber door panels and carbon/Kevlar Recaro racing seats with a HANS device. It makes 400-hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque and uses a KAPS 5-seed gearbox.

Even sillier than the TRAX system is the fact that the car comes with its own sleigh.

Subaru says the WRX STI TRAX is just in time for the holidays. We’re pretty sure this monstrosity just officially marked the start of SEMA.

See AutoGuide’s live SEMA Coverage here!

Official release after the jump:

Subaru Showcases the Ultimate Snow-Ready Performance Car at 2009 SEMA Show
Just in Time for the Holidays, a 400-Horse (-powered) Sleigh

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ — The Subaru WRX STI, when equipped with proper tires, is capable of impressive all-weather performance. But when even snow tires are not enough, Subaru offers a solution – a 400-hp WRX STI equipped with a snow tracks system, as showcased at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Nov. 3-6.

Starting with a rally-prepared 2009 WRX STI, Subaru Rally Team USA’s technical partner, Vermont SportsCar, built the one-off 400-hp TRAX STI envisioned by, and built for, DC Shoes co-founder and SRT USA driver Ken Block. The WRX STI TRAX is ready for the half-pipe, with a Yakima FatCat 4 Snowboard Rack up top, a Yakima Landing Pad rack base and DC Shoes XFB-C Snowboards. Naturally, there is a custom matching sleigh to go with it.

With the exception of the Mattracks rubber track system, the car is rally-prepared and similar in specification Block’s #43 SRT USA competition STI. Starting with a stock 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Vermont SportsCar stripped the car’s interior bare, lightened the shell and then fully seam-welded it for added strength, also installing a multipoint roll cage manufactured from T45 steel. Major differences from the stock STI include the addition of lightweight carbon/Kevlar RECARO SPA ProRacer competition seats with the Head and Neck Restraint System (HANS), carbon fiber door panels and an onboard fire suppression system.

Under the hood, the ultimate Subaru snow machine sports a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder, turbocharged and intercooled STI engine tuned with a MOTEC M800 ECU. The engine, which kicks out approximately 400 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque, is teamed with a KAPS 5-speed close-ratio dog-engagement gearbox and the Subaru programmable DCCD (Driver Controlled Center Differential) all-wheel drive system. Employing custom machined hubs, the drivetrain – which has been dropped three inches – is mated to Mattracks 105M1-A1 rubber track conversion. The car also features Group N competition rally dampers made by EXE-TC.

And Now for Something Completely Different

The WRX STI TRAX can bring four more friends along for the fun with its one-of-a-kind custom sleigh. Constructed with hand-laid fiberglass using sandwich-core construction, the sleigh runs on custom built steel skis with torsion bar suspension. Yakima FatCat 4 snowboard racks carry Qty 2 DC XFB Snowboards.

Protected beneath the padded roll bars are four heated and embroidered leather RECARO Speed seats with Sabelt 4-point harnesses. For music on the slopes, a marine grade water resistant Alpine digital media receiver is coupled with marine grade Kicker speakers and a 10-inch subwoofer. The rear of the sleigh features a large cooler and a grab-bar for towing snowboarders. Cup holders and LED lighting finish off the interior.

The sleigh also features a carbon fiber dashboard, center tunnel cover and rear-cooler cover. Tucked into a glovebox within the carbon fiber covered dashboard are two Viosport POV.1 camera systems. One camera lens is flush-mounted within the dashboard to film passengers, and the other is mounted high on the roll bar to record action around the sleigh.