It’s been 25 years since Subaru, with the aid of Prodrive, entered the first Impreza WRC rally car in the World Rally Championship, and to mark the anniversary Prodrive has something special planned.
The motorsports and engineering company is going to build a modern interpretation of the iconic Impreza 22B STI launched by Subaru in 1998 to celebrate the Subaru World Rally Team’s hat trick of World Rally Championship titles between 1995 and 1997.
Prodrive’s car will be called the P25, and just 25 examples will be built, with the first to be presented at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed running June 23-26. Prodrive is currently accepting expressions of interest, so presumably there are still some build slots available. Customer deliveries start later this year.
1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI
The P25 will be based on the coupe version of the GC8-generation Impreza of the 1990s, and closely match the design of the 22B. Responsible for the modern car’s design is Peter Stevens, who styled the original Impreza WRC. A teaser sketch hints at bigger wheels than the 22B and side mirrors styled like those used on the rally car.
Performance will also be a major step up on the 22B, according to Prodrive. The P25 will be more powerful, lighter and better handling, the company said. Some of the performance features planned for the car include a modern 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-4 delivering more than 400 hp, a 6-speed sequential transmission, and carbon-fiber body parts. The 22B featured a 2.2-liter turbocharged flat-4 and 6-speed manual. While it was officially rated at 276 hp, the real output was closer to 300 hp.
“The original 22B Impreza is considered the most iconic of Subarus and highly sought after,” David Richards, Prodrive’s chairman, said in a statement. “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.”