1997 Subaru Impreza 22B STi

The Subaru Impreza WRX 22B STi was a commemorative edition model built to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary as well as the third consecutive manufacturer's title for Subaru in the FIA World Rally Championship. Subaru was at the forefront of international rallying since its arrival in the early 1980s, and its first venture on the world stage was at the 1980 Safari Rally with the un-competitive Leone model. Success at the African event would remain the focus of the firm's rally campaign for several years. When Subaru partnered with the British Prodrive concern in 1990, it enabled them to undertake a full international season for the first time. Outright victory remained elusive despite the driving talents of Finn Markku Alen in the Prodrive works team and adequate power from the Legacy 4WD's turbo-charged engine. Scot Colin McRae's back-to-back RAC Open Championships in 1991 and 1992 put the international community on notice, giving hints of what was to come.

With the new Impreza Turbo model, Colin McRae and Derek Ringer won the New Zealand Rally in August of 1993, the marque's first major international success. Three more World Rally Championship (WRC) victories were earned the following season, two for McRae and one for Carlos Sainz. In 1995, Subaru achieved its goal of outright victory in the World Championship, with teammates McRae and Sainz winning five of the eight rounds. Although Sainz won three victories to McRae's two, the Scot won the Drivers' Championship by virtue of his greater consistency. Subaru won the Manufacturers' title in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Richard Burns won the Drivers' World Championship in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003.

Before the production version of the Type 22B was released in March 1998, a prototype was shown at the 32nd annual Tokyo Motor Show in 1997. The production version came equipped with a turbocharged 'flat-four' engine displacing 2.2 liters (96.9 mm bore) and fitted with an Electronic Fuel Injection system and an IHI RHF 5HB turbocharger. It produced 275 horsepower (280 PS) and 268 lb-ft (363 Nm) of torque, although the actual output was believed to be much higher, but the lower figure was quoted to satisfy Japanese government agencies. The five-speed manual transmission had a ceramic/metal clutch which helped distribute the power to the four-wheel drive system. The running gear, similar to the works team cars, featured Eibach suspension springs, Bilstein dampers, 4-pot brake calipers (painted red), and BBS forged alloy wheels. Peter Stevens was working as a consultant for Prodrive when he penned the modifications to the vehicle's bodywork which included a boot-mounted adjustable spoiler, wide front air dam, and extended wheel arches. It had a unique hood, a WRC-inspired front bumper, and 22B STi fenders.

The 17-inch wheels were larger than those of the standard WRX Type R STI Version, which measured 16 inches.

All 400 Japanese units were sold in just 30 minutes to 48 hours (depending on the report) despite its astronomical asking price of 5 million yen. An additional 24 examples were built for the export market, with 16 sent to the United Kingdom, five to Australia, and five (possibly 3) prototypes. Prodrive modified the 16 cars sent to the United Kingdom, giving them longer gear ratios and U.K. specification lights. Before the sixteen cars were officially imported into the U.K., 50 22Bs had already been imported privately. Subaru had to wait until 1999 to register the 16 officially imported cars under the VCA's Single Vehicle Approval scheme.

The five prototype cars were gifted to Subaru and team race drivers such as Nicky Grist and Colin McRae. The first prototype and the only pre-production 000 chassis built in 1997, chassis number 061819, was gifted to David Lapworth of Prodrive in 1997. It was Subaru's first, road-legal, turbocharged, wide-bodied, carbon copy of their World Rally-winning race car for the public.

The origin of the 22B's name is not known for certain, but perhaps it references the 2.2-liter engine displacement and the 'B' for the Bilstein suspension. The 'B' in the Legacy Spec B represented the Bilstein suspension, so this theory has merit. However, the 'B' was the internal code for the Turbo, and 22B is also hexadecimal for the number 555, in reference to State Express 555, Subaru's major sponsor in the WRC from 1993 to 2004.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023