Lights, Stripes, Turbo: Meet Scion's Latest Rally-Spec xD Hatchback
Scion offers a fairly wide range of accessories forits xD hatchback. Sadly, none manage to transform the small car into an actual rally weapon like the modified xD shown here.
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This is the handicraft of Scion Racing, and is designed to compete in the 2013 Rally America National Championship series here in the U.S. This isn't the team's first xD rally rodeo; in fact, the team first started rallying an xD in 1999. In 2011, the team hired pro rally driver Andrew Comrie-Picard; in last year's season, he finished second in the two-wheel-drive class.
The 2013 car isn't wildly different than the 2012 model, but there are a few tweaks inside and out. Lamp pods appear to be no more, as compact projector lighting units are tucked into every available nook and cranny in the front fascia. Scion Racing says it's also added a dog-engagement gearbox, improved the car's weight distribution, fitted all new suspension, and increased horsepower. Details on that last point are sketchy, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if power still comes from a turbocharged version of the xD's 1.8-liter 2ZR-FE four-cylinder engine.
Will these amendments help improve Scion's chances at taking home this year's championship? Only time will tell, but Comrie-Picard will find out shortly as the 2013 xD rally car makes debuts January 25 at the Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Michigan.
Source: Scion
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