The new Prodrive P25 is a 400 hp Subaru Impreza 22B resto-mod Car News

The legendary Subaru Impreza 22B – essentially a road-going version of the car that won the constructors’ title at the 1997 World Rally Championship – is back in updated, ultra-exclusive and heavily loaded resto-mod form.

Called the P25, the new arrival is the work of Banbury-based motorsports team Prodrive, which ran Subaru’s successful factory rally team from 1990 to 2008.

It comes 25 years after the introduction of the Prodrive-designed Impreza 22B, of which only 424 have been built. The firm says it has “reimagined what this car would have been today”, and as such, while the styling is left largely intact, the construction and underpinnings of the two-door sedan have been almost completely redesigned.

Only 25 examples will be produced, each using an original two-door Impreza WRX Mk1 as its base and, although dramatically improved, remaining true to the fan-favorite original ethos.

Each will be supplied with a UK number plate and priced at £460,000 before tax. About a year ago one of the original 16 22Bs officially imported into the UK in 1999 sold for £171,000 with 49,000 miles on the clock.

So the new model retains its charismatic, buzzy boxer four-cylinder engine – but with increased capacity from 2.2 to 2.5 liters and with outputs increased to “plus” 400 hp and 443 lb-ft. It drives both axles via a semi-automatic six-speed helical-cut gearbox, which Prodrive claims can change gears in as little as 80 milliseconds.

The engine, at its core, is Subaru’s latest generation boxer engine – as used by the naturally aspirated BRZ coupe and its Toyota GR 86 sibling – but for this application paired with a monstrous motorsport turbocharger. Garrett, a performance intercooler and a titanium/stainless steel racing exhaust supplied by Akrapovic.

The engine’s cylinder liners, pistons, connecting rods and valve train are also all bespoke.

Prodrive has kept the P25’s curb weight to less than 1200kg (an Alpine A110 weighs just over 1100kg, for context) and claims that the “WRC-derived” launch control and anti-turbo systems the help to go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds. .

The low curb weight is mainly attributed to the use of replacement carbon composite panels for the boot, bonnet, roof, sills, exterior mirrors and side panels – while Prodrive has also fitted door cards in carbon and a lighter lithium-ion battery. Slimmer, less bulky racing seats are an option.

The P25 rolls on Macpherson front and rear suspension, but gains machined aluminum uprights “which can be adjusted for camber and geometry optimized for the wider 1770mm track.”