Video: Building a 180 mph Subaru Impreza from scratch
Despite having one of the fastest cars we've ever seen, senior IT support technician James Birch, 27, is not a typical boy racer.
Sure, when he's not at work he likes to whizz around race tracks in his Subaru Impreza at speeds of up to 180mph. But the Wolverhampton car enthusiast is not the kind of petrolhead that you'll find revving their engines on Asda car parks at midnight. In fact, James's love for cars has taken him from a teenager tinkering with a Mini on his parent's drive to fully-fledged, sponsored racing driver.
"Boy racer is a horrible term brought on by a few," James says when we ask about his hobby. "Lots of people like to go out and park, to show off their car. But there's always a handful of bad eggs in every group that just have to show off. I've stayed away from that for a long time.
"The problem is, there's a lack of facility for people to showcase their cars in a safe place. To race your car in competitions, you have to have an FIA race suit, certified boots, gloves and helmet with a full cage car equipped with fire extinguishers. Not everyone has the money to do that, and so they just show off to their mates."
The modified car scene is worth millions, and there's much more to it than meets the eye. James says: "There are shops dedicated to it, and companies that modify Imprezas for people to race and have fun in. There are people that don't understand what's going on, so tarnish it for everyone else out on the street."
James keeps his racing to the track. Since passing his driving test nine years ago (first time, less than 10 lessons in) James has owned and worked on 20 cars, from an old Mini to this impressive Impreza.
"I have a lifelong interest in just going as fast as I can for as long as I can!" he admits. "The Impreza I'm working on now is a replacement for a car that was stolen last year. It's been seven months in the build, and it's designed to do 600 horsepower – a ten second quarter mile. It's just about road legal – enough so you can take it to and from the track without needing a trailer. It's designed to go out and win trophies in the most loud and bonkers way possible."
