Coloni Subaru, Subaru's failed attempt at F1

"YSI-what can brown do for you" (ysi-what-can-brown-do-for-you)
10/06/2013 at 20:23 • Filed to: Car History, Subaru, F1, V12, Flat 12

As some may know I want UEL headers on my boxer, but this is a Subaru boxer that doesn't need UEL headers. Cause this Subi flat 12 sounds amazing without them!!! Although, this is a pretty sexy looking engine, it isn't great, when compared to F1 standards. Compared to Honda V10s and Ferrari V12s, making close to 700hp, this only made a mere 600hp. It also was unreliable. . . so it wasn't great. The idea behind the boxer was the fact that it could be mounted low. Then they remembered the exhaust has to come out somewhere, so it wasn't mounted as low as it could be. It also didn't help the car was a heavy, I blame the engine.

This was the guy who made the engine. His name is Carlo Chiti, and he has nothing to do with Subaru. He was actually hired by Subaru in 1988 to make a F1 engine. He used to make V6s for Minardi F1 team. The engine was given to Minardi M188, but they thought 600 hp was pretty weak for a F1 engine. You would think a man with so much experience that he could do better. The engine was later given to these guys. . .

The team Subaru was with was made by some guy named Enzo Coloni. With a man with such an Italian name you would think his team would be amazing. . . nope. The team competed in 14 races, in 5 years of racing, not winning a single race. Their 1990 car obviously had the Subaru flat 12 and a transverse gearbox. It was pretty unreliable. Mostly due to engine problems. After not doing much(0 wins or podium finishes) in the season Subaru pulled out of F1 in July 1990. :'(

The worst part about this is that the team replaced the engine with a Cosworth DFR V8. So I have no idea where this engine is, and we will probably never hear this engine again. It doesn't help that I can't find ANY videos on YouTube. This is the best I can do.

So now the search is on to see what happened to this engine. I really hope it is still out there, in a museum of some sort because I have an FRS that is craving for a bit more power.

DISCUSSION (25)

YSI-what can brown do for you > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 20:27

Kinja'd!!!

I wasn't sure were to fit this in, but this is the guy over seeing the F1 project, Yoshio Takaoka. He did some rallying up til 1985, and scored the highest points for an Japanese driver.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 21:02

I think it's notable to say that the Subaru-Coloni never pre-qualified to run in a Gran Prix, at the time up to 39 cars were competing for 26 grid spots, Pre-Qualifying was for teams with the worst record over 6 months to compete for 4 places in the main Qualifier, which then 30 teams competed for the 26 spots.

Subaru-Coloni never made it out of PQ, and when Subaru sold their stake and Coloni switched to Ford-Cosworth it was "fast" enough to get into Quals, but never made it into the Grand Prix.

I've heard a lot of people say Subaru's F1 failures led them to avoid the same mistakes in WRC... but I don't know how true that is, their (full) WRC effort started in the same year and was immediately competitive, probably because they'd already been competing piece meal in WRC for over 10 years.

YSI-what can brown do for you > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
10/06/2013 at 21:05

Oh wow. I had read somewhere that the engine failed multiply times over the course of the year. I am not surprised then that it didn't make it past pre-qualifying.

YSI-what can brown do for you > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 21:08

I would also like to say, by boxer I meant flat 12. There hasn't been a true boxer 12 that I know of.

rabbitman > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 21:15

Now that is some engine porn, just beautiful, sucks that bad planing ruined it, they went through all that, and didn't think about exhaust exit. To bad they couldn't inverse and figure out a way to keep it drenched in oil, just to make it work.

YSI-what can brown do for you > rabbitman
10/06/2013 at 21:21

It wan't that they forgot about the exhaust, they just thought it would be lower than it was. If I remember correctly, it had a center of gravity similar to teams with Vee engines.

I have also wondered about a boxer with exhaust coming out the top. They did the something similar with Vee engines in the 60s, so I wonder why they haven't done it with boxers.

rabbitman > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 21:36

That's pretty much the jist, like some one forgot we are trying to get this as low as we can, and the VW air cooled engine does that because it's more like a motor cycle engine, intake and exhaust are on the same side of the head. That looks like it wouldn't have the room, and also probably has something to do with it being water cooled making putting the ports in the same side pretty tough.
This shows it well how they did it in the amphibious VW's and thanks now I get to read about them pretty interesting .
Thanks again for the interesting post, I love weird one off stuff.

Kinja'd!!!

YSI-what can brown do for you > rabbitman
10/06/2013 at 21:45

No problem man, glad you enjoyed. I found out about this a few days ago and decided to do some research. Posted it here cause I thought someone might enjoy it.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 21:49

yeah, Coloni wasn't the most organised of teams, the story gets even crazier when you see who he ended up selling it to.. The Andrea Moda team, run by an Italian shoe manufacturer.

They had problems like not paying Judd so they didn't have an engine for Canada, team members not getting paid and walking off the job, not having any of your gear for French GP because you were the only team who couldn't negotiate through the trucking blockade. Or being caught forging invoices and being banned by the FIA for bringing the sport into disrepute.

YSI-what can brown do for you > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
10/06/2013 at 21:55

I had a good laugh at this. I can't believe any of this, it is just too funny. Although I do feel bad for teams like this. Sometimes they have great ideas, but they lack some of the funding to compete with the big boys. I guess that is just how things work.

Kinja'd!!!

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/06/2013 at 22:33

exactly, it was a different era when just about anyone could have a go at F1 given enough money, it's a shame that Subaru and Coloni didn't put the effort in to make the car competitive, either by mismanagement or lack of funds. (or just lack of talent)

Coloni is now head of the Auto GP series, which seems to be working out for him, he saw it through the transition from F3000 regulations to the A1 Lola-Zytek cars.

6cyl > YSI-what can brown do for you
10/07/2013 at 00:29

What is the advantage of pre-throttle injection? Lots of race cars especially older ones do it this way but I cannot figure out why exactly. Better air/fuel mixing? or does it increase intake velocity? It can't be the most fuel efficient as the fuel that sticks to the throttle (at partial throttle) must be wasteful.

YSI-what can brown do for you > 6cyl
10/07/2013 at 14:50

I honestly don't know. It probably has something to do with intake velocity more than anything, cause you can get a better air fuel mixture with more accurate applications. . .

PlayerWAN > 6cyl
09/02/2014 at 13:49

It increases throttle response because you can put the butterfly valves (or sliding plates, or rotating cylinder) closer to the intake valves. The only problem with that type of injection is it's pretty shitty during part throttle low rpm runs, but with F1 engines going 10k rpm constantly, I guess they don't have to worry about that too much.

PlayerWAN > 6cyl
09/02/2014 at 13:49

punkgoose17 > YSI-what can brown do for you
09/02/2014 at 13:55

Maybe they would have been better off without exhaust pipes of any kind and let if flow directly out of the block or head; probably against the rules though.

suckysucky5dolla > YSI-what can brown do for you
09/02/2014 at 13:57

I for one am glad that F1 is this way now. With millions of dollars pumped into research and development each year on gearboxes, engines, shell composites, engine management, suspensions, and tires, all those goodies are always trickled down to the point where consumers are able to afford upgrades to their cars in some form or another.

Of-course, nothing like turbo 4 cylinder F1's from the 80's :: shivers::

RazorGP > YSI-what can brown do for you
09/02/2014 at 18:07

An older Suabru leaking oil at the heads? YOU DON"T FUCKING SAY.

YSI-what can brown do for you > RazorGP
09/02/2014 at 18:16

Haha, at least the head gasket didn't blow!

YSI-what can brown do for you > punkgoose17
09/02/2014 at 18:18

That might ruin the air flow underneath the car. They want as little air under there as possible! This is the problem with the boxer engine in race cars. While they are flat, their main advantage is ruined by the exhaust and the COG is just as high as any other engine configuration, but it is a little heavier.

YSI-what can brown do for you > suckysucky5dolla
09/02/2014 at 18:19

I think they trickled back then too. I don't think F1 led the way for turbos(I think Can-am was when they were totally being exploited with cars like the DN2 Shadow and 917/30), but most if not all the tech we have now, is all from years of F1 tech. It is great for us! My 200hp car can now out handle a Lambo made in the 80s because of the leap forwards in tire compounds.

RazorGP > YSI-what can brown do for you
09/02/2014 at 20:40

Given it never really saw GP usage it was probably a big concern.

suckysucky5dolla > YSI-what can brown do for you
09/03/2014 at 03:40

ah yes, sorry i wasn't clear....the turbo f1 era i put in was just the love for them....1400hp gearbox and engine destroying monstrocities.... God i miss them.

Gaston Pescadere > YSI-what can brown do for you
05/20/2015 at 07:37

Well, the Ferrari Testarossa, the Berlinetta Boxer, the 1512 and the Porsche 917 used flat-12

desertdog5051 > YSI-what can brown do for you
06/30/2015 at 13:56

You return. Bringing interesting things with you as usual.