Rally Cross Cars That Are Not A Subaru

Will It Rally?

Rally cross cars are cool.  Plain and simple.  A friend of mine is selling a 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS with a manual transmission (non-turbo).  And according to Jalopnik – Every Car Enthuasist Needs Drive an Impreza.  And I’ve always wanted to get into rally cross and thought the Impreza 2.5RS would be a great introduction into the sport.   Thoughts Justin?

Our main man Justin Hughes is our resident rally expert.  He’s done all sorts of cool things. Even wrote a great article on how to get into rally cross on the cheap!

Rallying On A Budget, An Oxymoron?

Well honestly you can rally in pretty much any car.  Front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel drive it doesn’t really matter.  The only thing that will not allow you to race is if it you car has a high center of gravity.  Other then that it’s wide open, and people will rally cross pretty much whatever car they have. My goal today is to outline other cars that you might not have thought about but still would be great as a rally cross contender.

The $5000 Rally Cross Car

You can buy a rally cross car for cheap.  Heck, most rally cross cars cost $1,000 because their owners know it’s going to get destroyed.  But I figured a $1,000 car is the new $5,000 car. So here are a couple different rally cars that you can get on the cheap that aren’t Subaru Imprezas:

1.  1991-1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R: My favorite car, and first car.  The Nissan Sentra SE-R is the enthusiast car that no enthusiast knows about and let’s keep it that way.  It came from the factory with a 2.0-liter engine that loved to rev, a limited-slip differential, and an extremely well balanced chassis set-up.
2. 2002-2004 Ford Focus SVT:  Lightweight, manual transmission, Cosworth tuned 2.0-liter engine, and a sport suspension make it a perfect rally cross candidate.
3. 1994-2001 Acura Integra GS-R: A high-revving 1.8-liter engine, and a car so well-known that it was the most stolen car for a long time make the GS-R a classic.  It’s chassis is very tunable, there are parts galore in the aftermarket.
4. Any Volvo, seriously: If you go to any rally cross you are going to find a Volvo from the 80s because they are built proof reliable, and great in the snow.
5.  1985-1991 Mazda RX-7 or 1989-1997 Mazda Miata: Surprised? So was I, but rear-wheel drive makes everything more fun! And driving a Mazda Miata or RX-7 on a rally cross course is about as much fun that you can have with your clothes on.  Both have great sport tuned suspension and engines that love to rev. And both will put you close to the top of the rear-wheel drive class.

Who’s coming with me?

There are many other options but the above are a few good ones to start with.  Washington D.C has a great rally cross chapter , check out their Facebook page here.   Now, is anyone selling a Volvo rally car?