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Soup it up
Trick out Subaru GTX
Borla exhaust, K&N air intake, front strut brace and leather interior are added.
Aftermarket equipment turns Subaru's turbocharged, 250-horsepower Legacy GT into the special edition GTX.
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You may not want to drive all to New York to buy your next Subaru, but the special edition Legacy GTX models developed by Bill Kolb Jr.'s dealership might give you some ideas for enhancing your own vehicle.
"I came up with what I'd like on a car, and figured that might be what other people would like, too," said Kolb , whose Subaru dealership is located in Rockland County, just north of New York.
Kolb begins with Subaru's turbocharged, 250-horsepower Legacy GT in either sedan or station wagon form. The basic vehicle includes a five-speed manual transmission and Subaru's all-wheel drive.
Kolb adds a freer-flowing Borla exhaust, K&N air intake system, front strut tower brace to enhance handling, special leather interior (available in a two-tone format) and GTX badging. Sedans also get a custom rear spoiler.
Kolb was a young drag racer in Ford Motor Co.'s Total Performance heyday in the 1960s. He turned his racing efforts into a successful career as an auto salesman and built a national reputation for selling Shelby Mustangs. His sales career was so successful that he bought a Ford dealership. Six years ago he took over a Subaru store.
He buys his parts in quantity, so Kolb is able to offer more than $4,000 in accessory equipment for $713 on the sedan and $600 on the wagon, bringing base prices to $27,388 for the sedan and $28,277 for the wagon.
He offers optional wheel and tire packages and in-dash navigation systems. Also available is an engine computer chip that boosts horsepower to nearly 314, but Kolb notes that installation of such a chip can void the factory warranty.
He considered a more aggressive suspension setup, but found the Legacy models sporty enough for most drivers. He suggests that customers keep their stock suspension for 30,000 to 40,000 miles, and then install performance replacement parts. Just as in metro Detroit, New York's roads can be brutal on suspension components and many cars need new shocks and struts. .
For more information on the Subaru Legacy GTX special edition vehicles, visit Kolb's Web site, www.bkcars.com.
Larry Edsall is a Phoenix-based freelance writer. You can reach him at (602) 300-4518 or ledsall@cox.net.
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The Detroit News.
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