For 40 years, the rapid intervention brigade of the gendarmerie made sure to buy only French models. But in 2006, it broke this rule for the first time with the arrival of a Japanese sedan with a strong rally flavor, the Subaru Impreza WRX.
During its first forty years of existence, the rapid intervention brigade (BRI) of the gendarmerie accommodated a wide variety of vehicles. But they all had one point in common, long imposed by the regulations: they came from the catalog of French manufacturers. It was thus necessary to wait until 2006 for a first infidelity to the French brands. That year, 63 units of a Japanese sedan, the Subaru Impreza WRX, indeed joined the ranks of the police. An event that had a certain impact in the media at the time … without however creating as much controversy as the recent choice to opt for Seat Leon Cupra.
A rally star for the motorway
Selecting this four-door sedan to succeed the Peugeot 306 S16 was not necessarily obvious. While the Impreza had so far mainly stood out on the dusty specials or the mountain roads of the World Rally Championship, now we were going to ask it to survey the long ribbon of the French motorway. Not really his favorite playground, despite his top speed of over 230 km / h. But the aura then available to this Japanese, thanks to its success in competition, may be enough to dissuade some motorists from speeding. Just like its rather suggestive appearance.
A different color from gendarmerie blue
Unlike Peugeot, however, Subaru does not offer the color “gendarmerie blue” in its catalog. To avoid having to repaint the cars, it is therefore a slightly different shade that is used here. It helps to bring the BRI WRCs even closer to their rally counterparts. But here, no question of yellow stickers. We find white side markings, with the word “gendarmerie” in full, and the famous red and white zebras inaugurated by the Renault 21 Turbo in 1992. The novelty is the arrival of so-called “penetration” lights in front. like behind in addition to the rotating beacon: when you see them flashing in your mirrors, you probably have something to reproach yourself with.
Transformed by Gruau, a bodybuilder based in Laval in Normandy, the Impreza also receives a new variable message panel behind its rear window.
““We can send 7 different messages in four different languages, French, English, German and Norwegian”, explains Jean-Yves Hardouin, referent of the mechanical memory of the museum of the gendarmerie, “to say ‘hang up’ or ‘follow me’, usually it was “follow me”. ”“
This innovation also involved modifications to the interior, with the arrival of a control panel. While the pilot, trained on one of the two Impreza dedicated for these purposes on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans, concentrated on driving, on his right, the patrol leader could thus take care of selecting the famous variable messages of the radio. A distribution of roles which is still reminiscent of the world of rallying.
Return of turbo and four-wheel drive
The commonalities with the mount, which gave Petter Solberg and his teammate Phil Mills the world title, continue under the hood… to some extent. There is indeed a flat four-cylinder 2.0 turbo, associated with an all-wheel drive. But instead of the 300 hp it has in competition, or the 265 hp of the STI, it must here be content with 225 hp. Even if this mechanism is left original, it remains however much higher than the 167 hp of the 306 S16 replaced. While the torque jumped from 193 to 300 Nm. In the spirit, the Japanese are also closer to the 405 T16 used by the BRI in the 1990s: return to supercharging and four-wheel drive, power and torque hardly far apart, four-door bodywork… But they have the advantage of presenting a much more competitive price-performance ratio than that of the Lion sedan.
Too high running costs
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their maintenance costs, which will be deemed too high. Not to mention their solid appetite, combined with a fairly small reservoir which puts a strain on autonomy. When it comes to finding a replacement for this Impreza, in 2010, the police will therefore not remake their market at Subaru. They will prefer to reconnect with a compact three-door French front-wheel drive, the Renault Mégane RS A model that has recently joined the museum of the gendarmerie, and which will soon come to end our series of videos and articles devoted to old BRI vehicles. See you in a few days to discover it in detail.
Subaru WRX phase 2 technical sheet
- Engine: four-cylinder, 1,994 cc3, turbo, 16 valves
- Power: 225 hp at 5,600 rpm
- Torque: 300 Nm at 3,600 rpm
- Transmission: 4×4, five-speed manual
- Weight: 1390 kg
- Dimensions (L x W x H): 4.42 x 1.73 x 1.44 m
- 0 to 100 km / h: 5.9 s
- Maximum speed: 232 km / h
Largus.fr warmly thanks Magalie Dufour, Jean-Yves Hardouin, the teams of Gendarmerie museum and the Fontainebleau Police School for their welcome and availability.
The saga of the gendarmerie museum
Do not miss any episode of our saga devoted to the reserves of the Musée de la Gendarmerie. Find all the subjects in photos and videos dedicated to iconic sports models by clicking on the links below:
- In the reserves of the Musée de la Gendarmerie!
- All about the plates and colors of Gendarmerie vehicles
- Unusual vehicles in the Gendarmerie museum reserves
- Rapid Intervention Brigade: mythical vehicles to rediscover
- Matra Djet 5S (1966-1967). The first racing car of the BRI
- Renault-Alpine A310 (1974-1987). The BRI runs in six cylinders
- Citroën SM. His majesty in the ranks of the BIS
- A110, CX 25 GTI R21 Turbo. The other French stars of the BRI
- All about the 4x4s of the gendarmerie
- Peugeot 405 T16 BRI. The very discreet missile of the gendarmerie
- Peugeot 306 S16 BRI. The gendarmerie goes downmarket
