Even Better Than The Real Thing

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Chasing #31

Homologation.

It’s a word that doesn’t really mean much for most of the world, but for any car enthusiast, it’s a special one. Homologation specials have given us some of the most iconic road and performance cars of all time.

Whether it’s Mercedes-Benz’s Le Mans-based CLK GTR, Audi’s Group B era Sport quattro, BMW’s E30 M3 or Ford’s Sierra RS500 Cosworth, there was really no such thing as a bad homologation special.

Of course, one of the most iconic examples from recent years, when manufacturers would still sell you a road-going version of their race or rally car, is Subaru’s Impreza 22B STI. 424 examples were built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th year and their third consecutive WRC manufacturers’ title, with 400 of those exclusively for the Japanese market. For comparison, there were over 1,300 Ferrari F40s built.

The 22B always had a certain status amongst Subaru owners, but as we all know, its reputation over the last while has skyrocketed, along with its value. Based on a WRX Type R, the 22B was converted into a hand assembled 2.2-litre, wide-arched, BILSTEIN-equipped WRC tribute. It is the ultimate road-legal Subaru Impreza. Well, it was…