The year was 2009…

Let me paint a picture for you. The year was 2009 and you’re on your way up to your very first Subiefest event at Willow Springs Raceway. It’s a 3hr drive to get there so we leave as early as possible in the morning. We didn’t have GPS on our phones back then so getting lost would’ve sucked…

While on the way up you coincidentally meet up with another Subaru caravan headed there and you see this one car that will play a HUGE role in how you build your Subaru today…

This is the car that has been BURNED into my mind. As a teenager seeing this car slammed to the ground with a giant fucking wing was EVERYTHING to me.

To say this car hasn’t played a huge impact in the way I built my STI would be a lie. But to whoever you are, thank you. This photograph I took holds the same feelings as hanging a favorite race car poster on your childhood wall.

Over the years, I’ve built the STI through countless OEM+ iterations, but this current vision hits differently. It feels exactly like stepping back into your childhood bedroom and seeing that favorite race car poster still hanging on the wall after all this time… but this time, its physically right in front of you and you get to drive it as much as you want!

This is what SUBIEFEST used to be like… Imagine hundreds of Subies revving the hell out of their engines along the track. One of my favorite Subaru moments ever with my brother! I won’t get too much into with how Subiefest is now in 2026 but back then… it was magical. Almost like visiting Disneyland for Subaru enthusiasts.

While on the topic of reminiscing, I’ll do a little throwback photos to the car that started it all for me. My 2006 WRX. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone down memory lane…

I built the STI exactly the way I had done to the WRX… but this time with the STI, it was all 100% authentic parts. No replica wheels, eBay front lip, and busted up headlights. Crazy to think that the same vision still applies more than a decade later…

Thanks

Kurtis