This car, Lot 645, sold for $711,281 (£562,500), including buyer’s premium, at Iconic Auctioneers’ Warwickshire, U.K., auction, on February 22, 2025.
The Prodrive P25 was designed and built by the team that brought Subaru a string of World Rally Championships in the 1990s. It was created to be the ultimate performing rally-inspired road car, and it may well be. The $711k sale of a Subaru-like machine truly begs the question: How did we get here?
Winning ways
After entering the U.S. market in 1968, Subaru embarked on an aggressive advertising campaign in the 1970s, portraying its cars as affordable, reliable and durable. Subaru’s unforgettable tagline, “Inexpensive and built to stay that way” resonated with American consumers, especially heading into the oil crisis of 1973. With profitability skyrocketing by the decade’s end, Subaru decided to go racing to promote its brand. Based on the trajectory of its products, company leaders chose to focus on the World Rally Championship (WRC) series, which Subaru entered in 1980.
Subaru spent much of the ’80s as a WRC also-ran and, in an effort to up its game, consummated a partnership with Prodrive in 1989. Prodrive remains a highly regarded British motorsports and engineering firm, and from this point forward it began to construct race cars for Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT). The alliance was true genius, culminating in three consecutive WRC Constructors’ Championships between 1995–97 and an additional trio of WRC Drivers’ Championships.
To commemorate this incredible string of WRC Constructors’ Championships, Subaru built just 424 examples of the Impreza 22B STi in 1998. Intended as a street-going rally car, this limited-edition Subie captured the imagination of a wide swath of enthusiasts around the globe.
Here was a high-winged Subaru with incredible performance, courtesy of an uprated engine and suspension, an all-wheel-drive system, BBS wheels and titanium badging, all wrapped in a wider 2-door body and painted Sonic Blue. When the 22B first went on sale for $41,600, there was an absolute frenzy, and the entire production run sold out in less than an hour. Since its release, the 22B has enjoyed a mythical status, one that is well deserved based on rarity, performance and its indelible WRC connection.
The Subaru Impreza P1 (P for Prodrive) was launched in 2000 following the overwhelmingly positive market response to the 22B. The P1 was the product of a collaboration between Subaru U.K., Subaru Japan, Subaru Tecnica International (STi), and Prodrive. Built over a two-year span with a total production run of 1,000 units, the Subaru P1 followed the path forged by the 22B. Both cars were Sonic Blue coupes whose exteriors were designed by Peter Stevens, best known for his work on the McLaren F1. On balance, the P1 was a fun, sporty, limited-production Subaru model. It was a respectable performer, but it was no 22B — not even close.
Sing it again
Since 2009, Singer has been “reimagining” various Porsche 911 models with great success. In many ways, it has been at the forefront of popularizing resto-modding at its most highly developed level. Without likely intending to do so, Singer has also inspired others to follow in its tracks.
In 2022, Prodrive joined the fray, introducing the Prodrive P25 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Shortly thereafter, the company announced plans to produce just 25 examples of its Subaru Impreza resto-mod, with a staggering price tag north of $600,000. One can only speculate whether the 22B that sold on Bring a Trailer on April 19, 2021, for $317,555 played any role in motivating Prodrive to enter the “reimagined” marketplace. Certainly, that record sale couldn’t have discouraged it.
Prodrive is world-renowned for good reasons, and most of the people who designed and built its championship cars are still part of the team. Therefore, it was predictable that the P25 would turn out to be a remarkable driving machine. Taking inspiration from Subaru’s WRC97, Prodrive developed a totally new car for the street based on the now-classic Impreza WRX STi.
Every component was specially engineered, including the body, driveline, suspension, brakes and exhaust system, and there’s even a racing-style sequential 6-speed gearbox. Each 2.5-liter Subaru EJ25 turbocharged engine was hand-built by a specialist who had also built the engines for Subaru WRC legends Tommi Mäkinen, Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg. With an output of 440 hp at 6,000 rpm and 457 lb-ft of torque available at 3,000 rpm, the P25 rockets from 0 to 60 mph in less than three seconds.
A niche player
Our subject car is an ultra-low-mileage one-owner Prodrive P25 with more than $21,000 worth of options. It also wears chassis number 001, as the first of the 25 cars built. While it established a record auction price for the model by selling for $711k, it is worth noting that the day prior to this sale, Bonhams Cars Online failed to sell a silver P25 with a high bid of $442,891 (£350,250). That’s a market discrepancy of $268,390 in a 24-hour period.
When I first became aware of Singer cars, I was mystified by their popularity and market strength. Porsche is among the most highly regarded automotive brands in the world, so maybe there is some sense to it. Subaru is decidedly not Porsche, but perhaps the combination of the Prodrive legacy and the incredible performance of the P25 is enough to justify a strong — albeit razor-thin — market.
While the long-term collectibility of the Prodrive P25 is certainly difficult to predict, at least one devotee was willing to part with 700-large to park our subject car in their garage. Based on the no-sale at Bonhams Cars Online, I’d say the buyer paid all the money for chassis 36A001.
