Prodrive P25 is a spectacular tribute to the Subaru Impreza WRC car

Nostalgia is an immensely powerful force when it comes to “Will, Not Need” car purchases, and after increasing the value of earlier classics, it has now reached the 1990s. This seems to be the most extreme example yet: the Prodrive P25.

Yes, it’s a Subaru Impreza, albeit a heavily redesigned one. Only 25 will be produced for wealthy, rally-loving collectors, each one will carry a six-figure price tag in the UK

British motorsport company Prodrive created the original Subaru World Rally Championship works cars of the 1990s and early 2000s. The team’s most celebrated season came in 1995 when Colin McRae won his only Drivers’ Championship in a four-door Impreza Turbo. In 1997 Prodrive created an even faster Impreza to take advantage of the new WRC regulations, based on the two-door Impreza body only available in Japan. This in turn inspired the 22B “widebody” road car in the Japanese market, but also the Prodrive-developed Subaru Impreza P1 that was sold in Europe.

Prodrive

While Prodrive cites the Impreza 22B as the primary influence of the new P25, it also seems to owe this to the slightly later P1, including the fact that the man who designed the body kit for Prodrive’s first road-going Impreza, Peter Stevens, did the same has done the work on this. Aside from the P25’s vastly improved mechanical specs, the biggest difference is the price; Limited to 1000 units, the Impreza P1 was originally sold in 2000 for £26,800; this results from the inflation calculator as the equivalent of $59,000 in 2022 dollars. The new P25 is priced at a cool $565,000 at current exchange rates.

The P25 is based on an original Impreza two-door chassis, but with the hood, decklid, rocker panels, mirrors, fenders and the rally fender all made of carbon composite. This reduces the mass to less than 2650 pounds, according to Prodrive – even less than the original WRC rally car. Power comes from a revised version of Subaru’s familiar 2.5-litre turbocharged boxer engine, which gets new cylinder liners, pistons and connecting rods, and variable valve timing. Boost is delivered by a Garrett turbo, and the exhaust is a titanium and stainless steel Akrapovič system.

400 hp, 442 pound-feet

Peak power is said to be over 400 horsepower, accompanied by 442 pound-feet of torque, delivered through a six-speed sequential paddle-drive transmission with helical gears and an electronically controlled active center differential. A launch control system is claimed to be able to propel the car through first, second and third gears with no driver intervention other than presumably holding the accelerator pedal firmly against the bulkhead. Prodrive claims a zero to 62 mph time of under 3.5 seconds. And more good news for lovers of the unmistakable cannon produced by the original Impreza rally cars: this one maintains deceleration and injects fuel into the turbocharger to keep it spinning without a throttle.

The P25 gets AP racing brakes with cast-iron discs front and rear gripped by six-piston and four-piston calipers, respectively. The interior gets a new digital screen with data logger, and buyers can choose to have four seats or replace the rear ones with a half-roll cage. It also features both a hydraulic “fly-off” e-brake (which disengages the center differential) for easier oversteer and a modern electric parking brake.

The P25 will make its official debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​this weekend, with customer deliveries beginning later this year. The obvious question: what other rally heroes would you like to see reimagined? The Lancia Delta Integrale? Audi Sport Quattro? Peugeot 205 T16?

How about everyone?

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