Snapshot
- Former WRC team Prodrive celebrates 25 years of the 22B STi
- Prodrive P25 will feature a 2.5-litre boxer engine and six-speed sequential gearbox
- Carbon fibre chassis ensures it’s lighter than the original car
The legendary Subaru Impreza WRX 22B STi is coming up on its 25th birthday, and British firm Prodrive has tapped into its roots to celebrate.
Simply called the P25, Prodive’s latest creation is based on a two-door Subaru Impreza WRX GC8 but with inspiration from the limited-run 22B STi which started production in 1998, with just 425 examples built worldwide.
Rather than the 2.2-litre, turbocharged flat-four engine found under the bonnet of the original road car and limited to 206kW, Prodrive says the P25 will be powered by a 300kW-plus, 2.5-litre boxer – now sending drive to all four wheels through a six-speed sequential transmission.
Subaru’s original 22B STi has become a cult classic, with some examples selling for nearly half a million dollars
Despite the 22B STi tipping the scales at a relatively lightweight 1270kg, the P25 promises to shed even more weight, going on a crash diet with a carbon-fibre chassis, promising better handling than ever before.
Prodrive founder and 1981 world championship-winning co-driver David Richards said the P25 is his brainchild, promising it will deliver on expectations to mate classic design with modern tech.
“The original 22B Impreza is considered the most iconic of Subarus and highly sought after,” said 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.”
Having run Subaru’s World Rally Championship program between 1990 and 2008, Prodrive campaigned the Legacy (or Liberty to us Australians) and the Impreza WRX for just shy of three decades, taking three drivers’ titles (1995, 2001 and 2003) and three constructors’ championships (1995-1997) in the process.
The P25 project will reform the team of lead designer Peter Stevens and technical director David Lapworth, both of whom worked on the original rally car.
Colin McRae and Nicky Grist in the usual position: not on the ground
It’s not known how much Prodrive is asking for the P25, but given 22B STis have previously fetched over $400,000, it’s unlikely the British firm will be letting its creation go cheap.
One example in Wagga Wagga with just under 30,000km on the clock is currently up for sale on Collecting Cars, with bidding already up to $226,500 with less than five days remaining.
Prodrive has said the P25 is set for its public debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, while just 25 examples will be built – being delivered to customers in the UK later this year.
A 22B STi (left) with Subaru’s Legacy RS RA (right) and a Version WRX STi Type R (rear)