Weather did not spite Subaru today. After torrential downpours derailed its first effort at a Nürburgring lap record, Subaru returned to the Green Hell with its WRX STI Type RA NBR and rung up a 6:57.5, a record-breaking run around Germany's most notorious race track. 

Subaru completed the run not with Mark Higgins at the wheel, who piloted the Type RA NBR at Goodwood, but with 25-year-old Richie Stanaway. The Kiwi racing driver has run in multiple World Endurance Championships and 24 Hours of Le Mans races for Aston Martin Racing and was at the controls for Subaru's rained-out effort in May.

Taking the record for fastest 4-door required a wildly modified WRX STI, which we saw in person at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed. Subaru and the racing experts at Prodrive evaluated and then improved virtually every component on this car, as we learned last month at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. 

There's over 600 horsepower from a heavily massaged 2.0-liter, turbocharged flat-4, while a six-speed sequential gearbox is capable of extremely quick shifts. A driver-controlled adjustable spoiler allowed Stanaway to dial in more or less rear downforce as needed, while a heavily upgraded suspension coped with the Ring's bumpiness while keeping all four super-sticky Dunlops on the road.

As for Stanaway's blistering lap, look for a full video from Subaru soon.