PlayStation 2 game software WRC 3
16 July 2004


On 27 May the Sony Playstation game 'WRC 3' went on sale in Japan. Already available in Europe, the realistic game gives players the chance to re visit the 2003 WRC season, which saw Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg become World Champion. Including breathtaking speeds and non-stop action, the game enables fans to play as any of the sport's leading drivers, all of whom have perfectly recreated in the game along with their co-drivers.
The game also includes a hidden 'Bonus Stage', which can only be accessed by players that achieve a high score. Featuring a bonus 'Subaru Extreme' car that was designed by real-life Subaru designer Daisuke Tokanou, the feature includes expertise from a man who actually designs Subaru road cars. We visited Daisuke at the Fuji Heavy Industries offices in Mitaka City, Japan to find out more.

Q: Hi Daisuke, what is your actual job when you're not designing cars for the WRC 3 game?
A: "I work in the design department of Fuji Heavy Industries where we concentrate on the future design of prospective Subaru projects. We study concepts for future cars, visualize them in sketches and from that produce scaled models, followed by full-size clay models. It's very exciting."
Q: How did you come to design the Subaru 'Bonus Car' for the WRC 3 game?
A: "Some of us in the team joined a competition, after the chief designer Andreas Zapatinas asked us if we would like to take part. That's how it all started. I love playing racing games on the PS2, and thought that the chance to design a car for the WRC 3 game looked a great opportunity There were?four or five entries and I won! I was very happy."
Q: What was the concept and character of the design?
A: "The interior was the same as the current Impreza Production car, but I changed the front, rear and side view to make the car look more dramatic. It was for a game, but I didn't want to deviate too much from the Subaru design concept. The front started from the concept car B11S that was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show last year, while I wanted the overall concept of the design to express the power and speed of the World Rally Car."
Q: Was there any advice from Mr. Zapatinas?
A: "He liked my initial drawing and pretty much left me to do as I wished. He offered some ideas, like lowering the engine hood, but was supportive of my design overall. He grew up in Greece watching the Acropolis Rally and is a true motorsport fan - in fact we all are here. I was so excited to meet previous Subaru driver Tommi Mäkinen and Petter Solberg when they visited Fuji Heavy Industries last year. I was designing the car for the game dreaming that Petter would be driving it one day, so I was very excited to see him in person."
Q: What was the most difficult part?
A: "I was able to design freely, but the process of making it 3 dimensional was done by the PS2 design staff at Sony Europe and communicating with them was difficult. As English is not my first language, things such as the Subaru spirit, the concept of the new design and how it should represented in 3-D was sometimes difficult to convey."
Q: What would you like to say to the players?
A: "Enjoy driving the car in the game! Young kids don't have driving licenses, but it would be my greatest joy if the thrill of driving a Subaru in the game made them feel that they would want to drive a real Subaru someday."