STING LIKE A B

The P25 is Prodrive's dazzling tribute to the iconic Subaru Impreza 22B STI. But can it possibly justify its eye-watering £552,000 price tag? There's only one way to find out

- RICHARD MEADEN

SO MANY YEARS. SO MANY MEMORIES. I'M NOT SURE which marks the relentless passage of time more starkly: the fact that it's 30 years since Prodrive's blue and yellow 555-liveried Subaru Imprezas first gunned it down a WRC stage, or that it's 15 years since the iconic partnership between Prodrive and Fuji Heavy Industries came to an end.

The Prodrive P25 marks another significant landmark. No, not evo's 25th anniversary, but the introduction of the ultimate factory Impreza, the bubble-arched 22B STI. It's a happy coincidence that the first issue of this magazine featured an exclusive UK first drive of the 22B. Yes, Subaru eventually shipped a batch of 16 Type UKs in 1999, but the early Japanese-spec model was a true unicorn. Securing the first (and at that time only) car in the country for our launch issue was a bit of a coup.

If you'd told me then that a quarter of a century later I'd be driving a £552,000 Prodrive-built tribute to the 22B, I would have suggested you see a doctor. To be fair I'd have said the same thing about any of today's restomod scene, and would likewise have raised an eyebrow at standard 22Bs selling at auction for well over £200k.

It's testament to the appeal and rarity of these late-'90s rally heroes that collectors are prepared to pay so much for cars that not so long ago could be found in the classifieds for £30k. On the flipside, if you're someone who was never into these cars in period, the rise of the half-a-million-quid Impreza probably seems preposterous. Me? If I possessed the requisite moolah, I'd have one in a heartbeat. Spoiler alert: the P25 is so good it hurts.