SUBARU

Impreza WRX STI

The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is the high-performance version of the compact Impreza, and its first-generation GC8 form is one of the defining cars of 1990s motorsport. Launched in 1992, the original Impreza WRX paired a turbocharged EJ20 2.0-litre flat-four "boxer" engine with Subaru's signature symmetrical all-wheel drive, and from 1994 Subaru Tecnica International added the hotter STI versions with strengthened internals, more boost and sharper responses. On the world stage the Subaru Impreza WRX STI became a giant-killer, taking the FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers' titles in 1995, 1996 and 1997, with Colin McRae securing the drivers' crown in 1995 and the car's blue-and-gold 555 livery becoming an icon of the sport. Sold as a four-door sedan and a sharp two-door coupe, the GC8 ran through a series of "Versions" (I to VI) and ever-wilder type-R and RA homologation specials. The pinnacle was the 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi, a widebody coupe built to celebrate Subaru's 40th anniversary and its third consecutive WRC title; its enlarged EJ22 2.2-litre engine, flared arches and exclusive Sonic Blue Mica paint made it instantly legendary, with just 400 units for Japan plus a small number of export and prototype cars, around 424 in all, every one selling out within days. Rugged, raucous and endlessly tunable, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI is now a blue-chip Japanese performance classic.