just so you guys know (and i know some of you already do) the need for a large surface area rear wing can be reduced by giving the underside of the car special treatment that allows the entire car to act as a giant wing. the same thing is done on CART cars, F1 cars, lemans cars, and any other purpose built race car. obviously you'll note that some of the cars listed above also have gigantic wings, both front and rear, so it then becomes a function of how much power are you willing to give up in order to gain downforce. when you're driving a 2400 pound car (the wrx is ~3200 pounds wet) with 600+ horsepower, you can afford to put some wings on to help your car hunker down at speed.

another interesting fact: indy cars generate so much downforce at high speeds that they can drive upside-down on the roof of tunnels above 100 mph. don't believe me? they have it on video.

 

that car owns.

I mean, I didn't even notice the wing at first b/c it just blends into the bullet smooth shape.