[1fastdoc]

I was recently looking at getting a WRX as a DD but I just couldn't get past how cheap it felt. Also looked at the STi and in doing so, have come across a lot of info on the Evo and it got me thinking.

I was at an open track event a year ago and one of the fastest cars out there was a modded STi. At one point it passed me and my instructor told me to just stay on his bumper. LOL. That lasted about 10 seconds -- the time it took to go through the next turn. Gone...

So it seems, on paper, on a tight track, that the AWD cars should lay waste to the M3's, the vettes, etc. But if that was really the case, I would imagine that BMW would make the M3 an AWD vehicle. Clearly, they haven't.

Why not? What am I missing? What is the advantage to NOT having AWD? Many times I've heard that the AWD cars are easier to drive fast on a course. Isn't that the goal?

And on a similar note, why is there such a discrepancy when it comes to AWD performance? You either pay $35k for an STi or you pay over $100k for a GTR or AWD Porsche. Where is the middle ground??