Subaru WRX 22B STi tribute on its way

Prodrive has announced that it will celebrate 25 years since the first Subaru Impreza began competing in the WRC with an ultra-limited run of Subaru WRX-based Prodrive P25 cars that will each be priced from £525,000 ($A970K).

Set to pick up where the 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX 22B STi left off, the P25 will swap out the original wide-body coupe’s 206kW 2.2-litre four-cylinder boxer turbo for a larger, more modern 2.5-litre flat four that is set to produce in excess of 300kW.

Other changes over the 22B include a six-speed paddle-shift transmission in place of the 22B’s five-speed do-it-yourself manual.

Prodrive says “extensive use of carbon-fibre” has been employed, suggesting a full carbon body in a bid to slash weight from the original car’s still-lithe 1270kg.

There’s no word on performance but expect a 0-100km/h sprint of less than 4.0 seconds and a top speed of more than 300km/h – a considerable upgrade on the original 0-100km/h time of 5.3 seconds and 250km/h.

Claimed to recapture the “essence” of the first rally-prepped WRC racer, Prodrive says its retromod will feature upgraded looks penned by Peter Stevens, the original designer of the Impreza WRC racer.

The engineering, meanwhile, will be overseen by David Lapworth who was involved with the first Impreza WRC car’s development.

Said to have already received orders in double figures of the planned 25-car run, each P25 will be built at Prodrive’s Banbury HQ in Northamptonshire, with all of the updated 22B continuation models based on an original two-door Subaru Impreza chassis.

Back in 1998, just 400 Subaru 22B STI cars were sold in Japan, plus 16 in the UK and five in Australia.

Considering their rarity, the wide-body Subaru now commands eye-watering values, with one example selling for more than $400,000 at auction in the US last year.

“The original 22B Impreza is considered the most iconic of Subarus and highly sought after,” said Prodrive boss David Richards.

“We wanted to enhance everything that made that car so special by applying the very latest technology to create our own modern interpretation of a car that’s established a place in motoring history.”

The first Prodrive P25 will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that kicks off on June 23.

Join the conversation at 

our Facebook page

Or email us at 

editor@carsales.com.au