Big Northwest Subaru Meet (or BNW for short) is a car show that many Subaru enthusiasts look forward to all year round. Many set build goals for the car show and/or autocross – I know I had some things I wanted to finish before BNW would arrive, like painting side skirts and polishing up the entire car. I attended BNW for the first time back in 2015 with my first Legacy wagon, and then the following year in 2016, entering in the car show with my second Legacy wagon. Being the newest content contributor for all of you awesome people, I was slightly intimidated at knowing this is my first event coverage article, however I knew I would get the job done. With that in mind; a group of friends, girlfriend and I shipped it down to Portland, OR on Saturday – the day before the show.

We arrived at the Vancouver, WA Airbnb around five o’clock in the afternoon. A driveway full of Subarus and a house full of friends; we kicked back, relaxed for a bit before we washed up the cars and went on the search for food. After a big meal graciously paid for by an unknown guest at a local Red Robin, we headed back to settle in for the night. Minimal sleep & a lack of coffee lead to a snoozy morning. Nonetheless, we were all pumped to get to the show early at 7:00am. Like many years before, Big Northwest Subaru Meet is held at Portland International Raceway. The majority of us had entered into the car show, so getting in was fairly quick for the most part. This year around, the car show participants were placed down the drag strip, making for a nice backdrop for the massive amount of Subarus to arrive. From there, we were staging up and preparing for the all-day party to begin.

For some, BNW is the show where all the long-term projects, race cars and show cars come out of the woodwork. This is the type of show where you are bound to see something you really love – this year was not about to disappoint. A multitude of heavy-hitter companies came out to join the fun and show off what they had to offer. After my friends & I parked for the show and cleaned up, we went ahead to go look at some of the booths. One of my favorites is the Perrin Performance booth. Between sweet engine displays and showroom cars; they do a fantastic job at showing off their products. One of their cars was easily my favorite BRZ at the show! On top of the licence plate reading out “PEAR-N” (clever, right?), these Volk-Rays TE37SL’s with highlighter yellow decals really completed this car for me! Clean and simple, to the point.

Over at the Grimmspeed booth, along with previous Limelight feature Justin Chapman and the big-winged Crosstrek, is another show favorite for me; a built 2004 Blobeye STi decked-out with Grimmspeed goodies and many other track-ready bits. Seeing this monster motivates me beyond belief to clean up the Impreza that much more, along with finish up my STi headlights I have sitting in my garage. On top of that, the meaty track tires and wing hanging out in the back establish that this car means buisness!

IAG Performance had also made an appearance with a wild-colored 2016 WRX rocking a MASSIVE front mount intercooler hiding behind the front bumper. Next over, a full STi-swapped & bagged 2004 Forester XT that floats between form & function while still keeping clean.

Cobb Tuning & Surgeline packed some heat on their lineup. Fully converted Sedan-body and built to the nines, a 2005 WRX wagon with a full Surgeline vinyl wrap sits proud next to an insanely well-put-together WRX Hatch, with some awesome red accents to compliment the red big brake kit and flat grey metallic vinyl wrap.

On the other side of the Cobb Tuning & Surgeline booths, Oregon Subaru Club had a GC Impreza track car as well as other end of the spectrum; a lifted Forester on all-terrain tires, Anderson Design & Fabrication lift and had an entire camping tent that pops out off the roof! It makes me wish I would have had one of those when I owned my lifted Outback.

Subaru of America had put out an announcement a little while ago saying that they were going to bring out a Subaru even more rare then the 22B that would be at BNW. With what has to be the longest model name; the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec-C Type RA-R has come out to show its stuff. Well-equipped from the factory with Brembo 6-piston calipers, white 18″ Enkei’s, a special interior including Recaro bucket seats, body additions with lips, along with a spoiler and roof vent, and every STi suspension upgrade in the catalog; this Impreza is the full package. Right next to the RA-R, the iconic widebody WRC street car that is the gem of the brand for many enthusiasts; the Subaru Impreza STi 22B. Kept in prime condition by Subaru Technica International, the car looks as good as it did back in 1998. It is a car to commemorate a rally legend and Subaru’s back to back wins in the mid 90’s in the World Rally Championship.

After I picked up my jaw from the Subaru Technica International booth, I walked over to the other side of the event where some more local tuning, performance and service shop booths were located. One car I have been dying to see in person is Horizontal Motorsports Steve Hamann’s Legacy SS drag car. Big turbo, drag slicks, a bottle of NOS in the back and ready to hurt some feelings. One thing I enjoy about this car is in the interior, the old square dashboard has been swapped out for a more modern GD STi dashboard. This car holds a certain presence just parked, I can only imagine what its like when it is ramped up and ready to go.

I took some more time looking around, spotting a blobeye STi track car that Colonel Red Racing brought to BNW. Another local group, Mountain Roo, brought a lifted Forester on what looked to be 33″ to 35″ tall tires propped up on some boulders, showing off just how much flex this off-road rig had! Quite badass, if I say so myself.

After having some time for the car show to fill in, I headed back over to see who had arrived and was representing their builds. You look down the rows and see all sorts of various builds, leveling in track, show, off-road, classic, you name it!

When my friends and I were heading into the show originally, I had spotted a build that wasn’t like anything I had seen in person before. I came across what was a Colin McRae WRC Tribute Car build and it left me absolutely speechless; especially seeing on the display boards that this beefed-up Impreza started out as a crunched-up 1997 Impreza L! I had talked to the owner, Jordan Shaw, for a brief moment and learned that this car had a Compound Bi-Turbo engine setup that gave it an immense amount of power all the way through the rev range. Making somewhere in the area of 425-450 whp, I had scooped up his info to be able to look more into this beast later. I couldn’t possibly get all the details then and there, but this will surely not be the last we see of this car.

Making my way down the show, I took some time to visit with Chris Porter and his wildly-bright and show-ready 2003 WRX. I remember meeting Chris back in 2016 at BNW when the WRX had recently finished up getting its bodywork redone with a freshly painted Sonic Yellow body and fitted flares. Needless to say, the car has had some serious changes since the last time I saw it two years before.

After I had some walk around time looking at the rest of the amazing car show entrees, I was able to check out the autocross event they had going as well and was able to snap a couple action shots of Subies dodging some cones!

All in all, Big Northwest Subaru Meet was a success in my eyes. Between all the awesome cars, talking with various owners and enveloping in the community; it’s these times that I will remember and look back on for years to come. I look forward to what is to come next year, as with time, cars and other builds will evolve to the next level. I have faith that the next BNW will be even better and that the Pacific Northwest will continue to show why it is the Subaru Wonderland.

 

By Anthony Yastrum – @stiish_tony