Exclusive Prodrive P25 gets 300kW, advanced tech and WRC hardware, but weighs just 1200kg
The first pictures of the Subaru WRX-based Prodrive P25 have emerged ahead of its debut at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, with Prodrive confirming it will produce just 25 cars priced from £460,000 ($A810,000) each plus taxes.
Commemorating 25 years since Prodrive fielded its first two-door Subaru Impreza racer in the World Rally Championship, the 2022 Prodrive P25 is heavily inspired by the epic Subaru Impreza WRX 22B STi road car that instantly became a cult classic among performance car fans.
Reimagining the 22B using the latest technology and materials, Prodrive says each of the 25 cars will be based on two-door Impreza WRX models but says no 22Bs were sacrificed to create its ultimate homage.
Work began on the special P25 by cutting weight, with Prodrive employing extensive use of carbon composites throughout its construction to slash total mass to just 1200kg.
Where the original wide-body coupe used a 206kW 2.2-litre flat four-cylinder engine, engineers have developed a powerful free-revving version of the Subaru’s latest 2.5-litre flat-four that produces more than 300kW of power and a thumping 600Nm of torque.
Despite being sourced from the Japanese car-maker, the 2.5-litre is almost all-new and features different cylinder liners, pistons, con rods, valve train and variable cam timing.
There’s also a bigger Garrett turbo, a fresh intercooler, a newly designed airbox and a special Akrapovic titanium and stainless-steel exhaust.
The regular five-speed manual gearbox has been swapped out for a motorsport-ready six-speed sequential paddle-shift transmission that, combined with all-wheel drive and WRC-derived launch control and anti-lag systems, can see the Prodrive P25 hit 100km/h from rest in just 3.5 seconds – a huge improvement on the 22B’s 5.3sec time.
The changes over the 22B continue with Prodrive adding a new boot lid, bonnet, roof, sills, door mirrors, front and rear fenders and bumpers, while the rear wing looks almost identical to the one from the WRC car.
More weight was cut with the inclusion of optional lightweight race seats, carbon door cards and a lithium-ion battery.
Improving handling, there’s an adjustable active differential and a limited-slip differential front and rear.
The MacPherson strut set-up remains, but there’s now machined aluminium uprights that allow more camber and geometry tuning and a wider track.
New Bilstein adjustable dampers, revised springs and an anti-roll bar set-up for tarmac stages have all been added.
Reining in its new-found might, the P25 gets AP Racing brakes with 380mm discs clamped down by six-piston callipers up front and 350mm rotors with four-piston callipers on the rear axle.
Prodrive says the big chassis revisions are complete with wider 19-inch wheels all-round that are matched with Bridgestone Potenza tyres.
Inside, there’s an instrument panel more familiar to WRC drivers, with a full-width HD display offering data logging, maps for throttle response and engine modes, including anti-lag.
There’s even a WRC-style fly-off hydraulic handbrake that disengages the centre diff to remove drive to the rear wheels.
The cabin is said to remain authentic to the late-1990s Impreza, combining leather, Alcantara and carbon-fibre.
As standard, the Prodrive P25 is available as a four-seater but there’s also the option of a half safety cage that sees the rear pews deleted.
Overseeing the styling changes has been Peter Stevens, who styled the original Impreza WRC in 1997, as well as the McLaren F1.
Prodrive boss David Richards said: “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.
“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.”
Prodrive is believed to have already received orders in double figures of the planned 25-car run.
Each P25 will be built at Prodrive’s Banbury HQ in Northamptonshire.
Back in 1998, just 425 Subaru 22B STI cars were sold in Japan, plus 16 in the UK and five in Australia.
Considering their rarity, the wide-body Subaru now commands eye-watering values, with one example selling for more than $400,000 at auction in the US last year.
Stay tuned as the first development P25 will make several runs up the hill at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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Keyword: Wild Subaru WRX 22B STi tribute revealed