Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Spring 2015 | Page 16

The modifications

on the Subaru XV, lovingly nicknamed
“Bugzilla,” were minor.

Belgrade

ambulance to donate to the Mongolian cause. But they undertook months
of tireless fundraising, raising thousand of dollars for Go Help and Make a
Wish, the local Toronto-area charity they chose to support. (Their most
“out-there” idea: a street-side, pay-what-you-can haircut and waxing stand!)
The turning point in their efforts came when Subaru Europe offered a
Subaru XV 1.6 for them to use on the rally. This rugged compact crossover
is essentially the same XV Crosstrek we have here at home, powered by a
1.6-litre SUBARU BOXER engine instead of the more familiar 2.0-litre engine.
It was an easy choice for the all-female, Canadian rally team to partner
with Subaru for this epic drive. They needed a vehicle with parts and
services that would be accessible even in remote areas. The team knew they
could also rely on Subaru’s famed symmetrical full-time All-Wheel Drive
system and a well-established reputation for reliability and build quality to
get them all the way to Ulaanbaatar (and back).
The modifications needed on the Subaru XV, lovingly nicknamed
“Bugzilla,” were actually minor; a protective bonnet on the front and skid
plates fastened underneath. They were simple adjustments, but critical
to their ultimate success. “Any car without the skid plates didn’t have a
chance,” Corinne reports. “Not when you’re driving through the neverending rocky terrain with car-swallowing potholes that we did.” Their tires
were of the standard all-season variety.
Other gear that was essential to their rally survival: one cooler (usually
containing beverages to celebrate the end of the long 10- to 14-hour day of
Top: Team Offtrax at the ominously named “Door to Hell” in Turkmenistan
14 six star magazine

Bottom: Ferris wheels were a recurring theme in the post-Soviet states