Photo: Prodrive
Based in Banbury, the peeps at Prodrive know a thing or two about rallying. The British outfit became a worldwide sensation thanks to Subaru’s involvement in the World Rally Championship. The WRC-spec Impreza fielded by Subaru gave birth to an extremely special version of the WRX STI, the 22B that originally numbered 424 examples.
Scheduled to premiere on Thursday, June 23rd at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the P25 is Prodrive’s modern take on the 22B. Limited to 25 examples, the restomodded masterpiece costs £460,000 plus value-added tax. Converted at current exchange rates, that sum works out to $563,310.
The first development car will make several runs up the hill at Goodwood, then embark on an extensive test and development program in preparation for the first customer deliveries. Built at Prodrive’s headquarters in Banbury, the street-legal specification will begin shipping sometime in late 2022.
At a glance, the first big difference over the original is the 2.5-liter boxer that flaunts a motorsport-spec turbocharged from Garrett and an anti-lag system. The Akrapovic racing exhaust with a bypass valve should make the force-fed mill as rowdy as four-cylinder boxes get. As for the output, Prodrive is targeting more than 400 ponies and 600 Nm (443 pound-feet).
All that fury is channeled to all four wheels through an X-shift sequential transmission with helical gears and semi-automatic paddle shifters. The four-wheel-drive system boasts an electronically-adjustable center diff, and both ends of the two-door restomod are rocking plated limited-slip diffs.
Based on the steel monocoque of an Impreza WRX from that era, the P25 uses carbon-fiber panels throughout. Think the front and rear quarters, roof, front and rear bumper, hood, and trunk lid. The WRC-spec rear wing only adds to the visual drama, together with the 19- by 8.5-inch wheels complemented by six- and four-piston brake calipers from AP Racing.
“The iconic blue Subarus bring back memories of an extraordinary era of the WRC and it was the Impreza 22B that brought this rally car performance to the road,” said chairman David Richards. “By reimagining this car using the latest technologies and materials, the Prodrive P25 pays homage to its roots and there will be little else able to match its performance on the open road. I therefore believe we have achieved our vision of creating our own modern interpretation of the most iconic Subaru Impreza ever produced.”
The first development car will make several runs up the hill at Goodwood, then embark on an extensive test and development program in preparation for the first customer deliveries. Built at Prodrive’s headquarters in Banbury, the street-legal specification will begin shipping sometime in late 2022.
At a glance, the first big difference over the original is the 2.5-liter boxer that flaunts a motorsport-spec turbocharged from Garrett and an anti-lag system. The Akrapovic racing exhaust with a bypass valve should make the force-fed mill as rowdy as four-cylinder boxes get. As for the output, Prodrive is targeting more than 400 ponies and 600 Nm (443 pound-feet).
All that fury is channeled to all four wheels through an X-shift sequential transmission with helical gears and semi-automatic paddle shifters. The four-wheel-drive system boasts an electronically-adjustable center diff, and both ends of the two-door restomod are rocking plated limited-slip diffs.
Based on the steel monocoque of an Impreza WRX from that era, the P25 uses carbon-fiber panels throughout. Think the front and rear quarters, roof, front and rear bumper, hood, and trunk lid. The WRC-spec rear wing only adds to the visual drama, together with the 19- by 8.5-inch wheels complemented by six- and four-piston brake calipers from AP Racing.
“The iconic blue Subarus bring back memories of an extraordinary era of the WRC and it was the Impreza 22B that brought this rally car performance to the road,” said chairman David Richards. “By reimagining this car using the latest technologies and materials, the Prodrive P25 pays homage to its roots and there will be little else able to match its performance on the open road. I therefore believe we have achieved our vision of creating our own modern interpretation of the most iconic Subaru Impreza ever produced.”
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