Significant vehicles · scoped claims

Rare means scoped.

"One of very few" is not a fact until the population, period, market, and configuration are named. A 22B STI's production number depends on which auction house's account you trust — this page shows both rather than picking one.

“One of few” is not a fact until the population, period, market, and configuration are named.

The ledger

Rare for different reasons

JDM homologation special March 1998 (production); auction sales 2021 and 2023

Impreza 22B STI

424 units built (400 Japan-market numbered cars + 24 export) — the most consistently cited "rarest Subaru"

424 total is the figure with the broadest support across sources, but the export-market breakdown of those 24 cars is disputed and preserved rather than resolved: one prior research pass reports 16 UK + 5 Australia + 3 prototypes, while a source used this pass reports 16 UK + 8 "rest of world" — both total 24 but partition differently, and neither cites a primary Subaru production ledger. A minority of sources cite 425 or a plain 400 (ignoring export cars); recorded as weaker variants, not adopted. Two headline auction results, both preserved with their own disputes: (1) a JDM-spec 1998 22B personally imported under the US "Show or Display" exemption sold on Bring a Trailer for $312,555 on 20 April 2021 after 76 bids — a separate, unconfirmed Hagerty-reported figure of $317,555 for what may be the same or a different April 2021 sale could not be verified this pass (source returned an HTTP 403); (2) a 22B marked "000/400" — an ultra-rare pre-production prototype, not a numbered production unit — owned by Colin McRae since new, sold at Iconic Auctioneers, Silverstone, on 30 August 2023 for £480,500, reported as one of three total prototypes (the other two going to co-driver Nicky Grist and Prodrive engineer David Lapworth). This conflicts with a separate Bonhams lot description (chassis GC8-061819, also gifted new to Lapworth) stating five total prototypes were built — three vs. five is unresolved. A widely-repeated "$827,000" figure appears on inspection to be the Iconic/Silverstone result quoted in Canadian dollars rather than a separate Bonhams sale, but the two auction-house sources could not be fully disentangled this pass and are recorded separately rather than merged into one narrative.

Restomod (not a factory Subaru) 2023

Prodrive P25

25 units, roughly £460,000 each — a modern restomod built to mark the 22B's 25th anniversary, not a genuine period factory 22B

Built by Prodrive — Subaru's former WRC engineering partner — using a genuine donor first-generation Impreza chassis. Reportedly sold out. This is an independent aftermarket product, not a Subaru factory car, and should never be counted toward 22B STI production figures; named here specifically so it is never mistaken for one.

UK-exclusive limited edition 2000

Impreza P1

Approximately 1,000 units — UK-only, built by Prodrive specifically to counter grey-market JDM Impreza imports

Commissioned by Subaru UK and built by Prodrive, type-approved for the UK/Europe. Based on WRX STI Type R running gear (2.0L turbo, 276 bhp), all finished in Sonic Blue. One source additionally claims roughly 637 survive on UK roads today — a survivorship figure, not a production figure, and not to be confused with the original build count.

UK-exclusive limited edition 2004

Impreza WR1

500 units — a single-source figure, not independently cross-checked

320 PS / 420 Nm, numbered interior plaque, 18-inch wheels, UK-only. The 500-unit production figure rests on a single enthusiast-compilation source and has not been verified against a second, independent source — flagged in the research as needing corroboration.

UK-exclusive limited edition 2010/2011

Impreza STI CS400 "Cosworth"

75 units — built with the storied British tuner Cosworth

Cosworth-modified 2.5L EJ25-family turbo flat-four producing roughly 395-400 bhp / 400 lb-ft, with AP Racing brakes and Bilstein suspension. UK-only. Widely reported as Cosworth's first road car since the Ford Escort Cosworth ended production in 1996 — notable for Cosworth's own history, not only Subaru's.

Canada-exclusive limited edition Introduced August 2002 for model year 2003

Impreza WRX Spec R1

125 units reported (90 sedans + 35 wagons) — one other source claims 135; unresolved

Subaru Canada's Canada-only limited edition (sedan and wagon), exclusively in Sonic Yellow with a 5-speed manual, carrying over CAD $5,000 of added equipment versus a standard WRX. No JDM or US equivalent exists. The 125-vs-135-unit conflict has not been resolved against a primary Subaru Canada source.

JDM-only limited edition 2008

Legacy S402

402 units (sedan + wagon combined) — the model number matches the production cap, consistent with STI's other numbered S-series naming

On sale from 27 June 2008 on the fourth-generation (BL/BP) Legacy platform: widened front fenders, 13:1 quick-ratio steering, Bilstein dampers, 18-inch BBS wheels, and upgraded Brembo brakes. JDM-only. Appears on STI's official heritage list but, as of this research pass, is not yet covered in the dedicated Legacy/Outback model-history document — a genuine cross-cluster gap this entry partly closes, pending fuller absorption there in a future pass.

Commercial rarity and unrealized concept SVX 1991-1996 production; Amadeus concept 1991 (Tokyo Motor Show)

SVX and the Amadeus concept

SVX: roughly 14,000 units over a 5-year run, a sales disappointment rather than a deliberately limited edition; the Amadeus shooting-brake wagon derivative never reached production

The SVX descended from Subaru's 1989 Tokyo Motor Show concept with comparatively little change — an unusually direct concept-to-production story for Subaru — but sold poorly (roughly 14,000 units over 5 years); one retrospective on a well-preserved surviving example notes fewer than 1,000 SVXs ever reached Canada specifically. A shooting-brake wagon derivative, the Amadeus (shown at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show), was developed far enough to be seen undergoing real-world test-mule driving before the SVX's poor sales and the early-1990s Japanese economic downturn killed any production plan. As of a 2022-dated retrospective, parts of the one-off Amadeus concept had reportedly surfaced being parted out, implying the actual concept vehicle no longer survives intact.

Concept/show cars 1985-2003

Marque-wide concept cars: F-9X, Jo-Car, Rioma, Scrambler

A concept-car history spanning sci-fi show cars to an early hybrid-drivetrain concept, per Hagerty UK's retrospective

1985 F-9X: a sci-fi-styled show car (360 bhp, 343 Nm) whose "glass-to-canopy" window treatment reportedly influenced the production SVX's design six years later. 1987 Jo-Car: a playful kei-car-based concept (544cc 3-valve-per-cylinder supercharged engine, CVT, AWD, head-up display) — notable as an early Subaru CVT+AWD combination, years before the production Justy ECVT (1987-88) claimed that combination for a road car. 1991 Rioma: a targa-top roadster concept (2.0L turbo, dual-range AWD, flex-fuel unleaded/methanol capability, airbags/rollover protection). 2003 Scrambler: an aircraft-styling-cued roadster concept with a 2.0L flat-four hybrid drivetrain (electric-assist to 50 mph) and self-leveling air suspension — a notably early Subaru hybrid-drivetrain concept, predating the production Crosstrek Hybrid (2014) by over a decade. None of these are confirmed in the sourcing as literal one-of-one survivors except where stated elsewhere (the Amadeus); their "one-off" framing should be read as typical-for-a-show-car rather than independently confirmed.

Electric racing concept/prototype Unveiled January 2022

STI E-RA

An all-electric racing concept ("Electric — Record Attempt") targeting a sub-400-second Nurburgring Nordschleife lap in 2023 — no confirmation the attempt actually occurred

Unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon, January 2022: four Yamaha motors producing roughly 800 kW / 1,100 hp combined, a 60 kWh battery, and a carbon-fiber monocoque. Subaru publicly stated a goal of a sub-400-second Nordschleife lap targeted for 2023. This research pass found no confirmation that the 2023 attempt actually took place or, if it did, its result — an open thread for a future pass.