Subaru has built some fine road cars over the decades and the Impreza 22B STi might just be the finest.
The Impreza 22B STi was born out of the World Rally Championship and is worth six figures. Subaru built the limited-run 22B STi to celebrate its third consecutive manufacturers’ title in the World Rally Championship, achieved with the legendary Colin McRae behind the wheel. Just 400 units were built, and Doug DeMuro recently had the opportunity to test out one of them.
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Powering the car was an EJ22 four-cylinder engine that had its displacement increased to 2.2-liters, featured a hand-assembled closed-deck block, and was also fitted with a larger turbocharger, turbo timer, forged pistons, metal head gaskets, new inlet valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves. Subaru’s official word is that the car has 276 hp and 268 lb-ft (363 Nm) of torque. However, the car came out when there was a Gentlemen’s Agreement between Japanese car manufacturers limiting their vehicles to 276 hp. In reality, the 22B has much more than that.
Mated to the engine is a 5-speed manual transmission and the car features a host of other significant mechanical modifications that make it a great performer. For example, there are 4-piston front and 2-piston rear brake calipers, a differential lock control module, Bilstein suspension, front and rear strut braces, a twin-disc clutch, and bespoke wheels.
Unsurprisingly, DeMuro is very impressed by the 22B. Then again, that’s no surprise, as this really is the holy grail of Subarus.