Petrolicious photography by Robb Pritchard
Others courtesy of Nick Dungan and Drew Gibson
If you’re a fan of Subaru and reading this, your favorite model is probably the Impreza 22B. A few decades ago the World Rally Blue beasts were a common sight tearing up the stages of the WRC, and they did it better than most with 46 wins delivered by drivers with names like McRae, Burns, Sainz, Kankkunen, Mäkinen, and Solberg. The Impreza is one of the WRC’s most successful cars, and the 22B road car that was built to celebrate the rallying success became an icon. It’s funny to some to think of Subarus from the 1990s as classics or collectibles, but the proof is in the prices—cosplaying McRae in a real 22B costs a few hundred thousand. The car pictured here looks the part, but it’s even more expensive.
Built by the same company that prepared the early Subaru success stories in rallying, the Prodrive P25 is the first comprehensive high-end restomod to wear a Subaru badge. Based on the styling of the 22B, but constructed almost entirely from carbon composites, the augmented bodywork is matched by a potent drivetrain packing 400hp and 442lb-ft of torque. It costs roughly $700,000, and all 25 cars are already spoken for. We caught up with the prototype P25 last weekend at Goodwood to go beyond the press release and get a closer look at this special Subie, including a chat with Richard Thompson, the chief engineer behind the car, as well as its test driver, Mark Higgins.
Super Subie: Catching Up With The WRC and Subaru Impreza 22B-inspired Prodrive P25 Prototype
