Ex-Petter Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC Car Goes Under The Hammer

A Subaru Impreza WRC rally car raced by the legendary Petter Solberg will be auctioned off this weekend.

This Impreza is known as ‘PRO-WRC 04008’ and was the eighth chassis built by Prodrive for the 2004 World Rally Championship season. During the car’s debut, Solberg claimed third place at Rally Turkey and on September 5, 2004, secured victory at Rally Japan, winning 11 stages and finishing more than a minute ahead of second-place finisher Sebastien Loeb.

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The Silverstone Auctions listing confirms that after the car’s race win in Japan, it was returned to the UK and rebuilt for Rally Australia in November. Unfortunately, Solberg was forced to retire from that race. The car was then sent back to the UK and this time was rebuilt for Colin McRae to drive at the Bettega Memorial Rally Sprint in Monza.

At the conclusion of the 2004 championship, the car was rebuilt by Prodrive yet again and sold to a private team. It passed through the hands of numerous owners in subsequent years and in 2019, was picked up by a new owner who immediately sent it to the ‘Legends Department’ within Prodrive where it has been restored to exactly the same spec that it was during Rally Japan.

As such, the car has the same suspension settings that Solberg used during the rally and also has his preferred seat and pedal box position. It even has the correct water bottle mount and the restoration was fully documented in a booklet that will be included with the sale.