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Attention, Subaru WRC Fans: A Prodrive P25 Is Up for Grabs
Fans of Subaru rally cars, put down your pacenotes and listen up. A Prodrive P25, the ultimate modern, street-legal interpretation of the Impreza rally car, is up for auction.
Most race fans can name manufacturers or drivers in their favorite series. The companies that design and build the cars get less attention, probably because their name isn’t generally on the car. Occasionally those constructors turn their race-honed talents to a street-legal model. The P25 up for sale at Bonhams is one such example. Number 10 of just 25 cars built, the P25 is the creation of British outfit Prodrive, who took the just-introduced Impreza from Subaru in 1992 and built it into a Group A machine that won Subaru three consecutive manufacturers titles—’95, ’96, and ’97—in the World Rally Championship. Prodrive is a big reason why blue Subies with gold wheels are, literally, a winning combination.
Subaru has capitalized on the success of its race cars by building limited-edition street cars before, and so has Prodrive. The P25 is cast in the mold of the 22B STi, a run of 434 two-door Imprezas produced by Subaru’s STi division in 1998 to commemorate the company’s 40th anniversary and its third title in WRC. Each car is fitted with a boosted flat-four that, if you ask Subaru, made just 276 hp. The real figure is closer to 300. The 22B, as we’ve written before, is The Subaru to own. The popularity of the 22B is a big part of why Subaru decided to sell the WRX STi in the States.
The P25 is Prodrive’s own interpretation of the STi recipe from 1998, updated for 2023. Though it looks like a ’90s Impreza, the P25 is an all-new car. Nearly every body panel, except the doors, is made of carbon fiber. In the lightest spec, the car weighs less than 2535 pounds; the engineering prototype that we drove at Goodwood in 2023 weighed more like 2650. The interior is the work of Callum Designs (the brainchild of Ian Callum, former director of design at Jaguar), which has thoroughly covered it in Alcantara and ensured that metal and carbon fiber replace plastic whenever possible. The 22B had just one digital screen, in the center console, but the P25 has three—one where the gauge cluster would be, one in the console, and one in front of the passenger—or, because this is a rally car, the co-driver, who is giving precise and detailed turn-by-turn instructions. The co-driver screen even has its own set of shift lights.
Dave Lapworth, the same veteran engineer who oversaw the WRC-winning cars for Colin McRae, Richard Burns, and Petter Solberg, headed up the engineering for the P25. Under his guidance, the EJ25 flat-four got fresh innards: new pistons, connecting rods, and cylinder liners, along with a new valvetrain with variable cam timing. The gearbox is not an H-pattern, like that of the 22B, but a six-speed sequential with helical-cut dog gears, controlled by a single paddle and an electric clutch. The turbocharger is from Garrett Motorsports, the intercooler and the airbox are both new, and the exhaust system is a titanium and stainless-steel setup from Akrapovič.
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Of course, being a streetable rally special, the 22B is all-wheel drive, with front and rear limited-slip differentials, plus an active center diff. The suspension is likewise thoroughly upgraded, with uprights machined from aluminum, new springs, adjustable Bilstein dampers, and new antiroll bars. The front brake rotors are a massive 15 inches in diameter, and, though you get a hydraulic handbrake, there isn’t any hydraulic assistance when you press the left pedal. ABS? This Subaru has never heard of her.
This car, #10, is the first P25 to appear at public auction and the only silver Prodrive made. The odometer shows only 190 miles. The car is being sold by Bonhams and bidding stands at £301,025 ($380K) as of this writing—new, these cars started at £552,000 ($695K). For the devoted and deep-pocketed rally enthusiast who couldn’t get their hands on one of these new, the chance to own a P25 is exhilarating.
Such a fun car. Way beyond my price range. Prodrive built a monster.