Brand renowned for going rallying wants to see Foresters, Rav4s, X-Trails and CR-Vs battle it out on the race track.

Subaru has just launched Australia's quickest compact SUV - now it wants to take it to the track.

The brand's local boss Nick Senior told Drive at the launch of the new Forester S-Edition that the number of buyers looking at compact SUVs has never been so high - so they should be able to watch them race, too.

The S-Edition builds on Subaru's reputation for offering hardcore machinery for the masses, building on the credentials of the iconic WRX and WRX STI, as well as a strong lineage of motorsport success - and this is something that, according to Senior, offers a real incentive for the brand to get involved in a compact SUV motorsport segment.

"The one frustration I have with such an adrenaline charged lineup is our ability to demonstrate these performance credentials through any viable form of motorsport," Senior says. ........