The 1990s will forever go down in history as the height of automotive performance excitement among enthusiasts – current times simply can’t match up. Until we can comfortably use words like whirr or pulse to describe the kind of motoring aggression EVs offer at jaw-breaking speeds, we’ll be forced to live in the past. A rare 4-banger blue assassin dominated the rally scene during that era. With only 424 units produced, the iconic two-door Impreza 22B could be seen but never touched.
We all know what happens to rare iconic cars with a sprinkle of successful history – they are turned into art pieces and spend the remainder of their days changing hands among the motoring elite behind closed-door auctions.
If you had any hopes of owning the Impreza 22B in the 1990s but failed, fate offered you two decades to step up and get your money right (we’re talking about supercar money).
The reincarnated special version of the WRX STI, the 22B Impreza, premiered last year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as Prodrive’s P25. As you’d expect, it costs a pretty penny, in the proportions of close to two handfuls of Tesla Model Ys. Speaking of availability, only 25 units were up for grabs at $563,000.
Chad Burdette of CB Media on YouTube got to do a walkaround video of this iconic car at the Bangkok International Motor Show in Thailand.
If you didn’t get a chance to grab the last of '90s performance nostalgia, you have nine days to feast your eyes on this limited edition road-going rally car at the Bangkok Motor Show that officially started on 22nd March and will end on the 4th of April 2023.
Apart from playing host to iconic units from Brabus, new age EVs, and TECHART Porsche 911s, Prodrive’s P25 is the most expensive car at the Bangkok Motor show at THB 55 Million, approximately $1.6 million – thanks to import charges.
Using the original Impreza 22B chassis (but with carbon fiber panels throughout), Prodrive’s P25 packs a new turbocharged 2.5-liter four-pot boxer engine good for 400 hp (406 ps) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque.
The boxer engine was upgraded with beefier internals, a motorsports-spec Garret turbocharger, and an anti-lag system.
To harness all that power, the P25 runs an X-shift sequential transmission on a four-wheel drive system – a complete disappointment to stick shift lovers.
That’s not all. The four-wheel-drive system packs an electronically adjustable center differential with both ends of the reincarnate 22B rocking limited slip differentials.
The interior, reminiscent of 90s Japanese sports cars, is covered in Alcantara, carbon bits, sports a roll cage, and there are semi-automatic paddle shifters in there. The only notable glaring difference is a gear selector in place of what used to be a 5-speed manual.
Check out the video below for a glimpse of other iconic cars at the 2023 Bangkok International Motor Show.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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