There is a dealership in Italy that has an authentic piece of rally history for sale. It is a Subaru Impreza STi from 1993, which had Colin McRae as one of its drivers.
Approved by the sports division of Subaru, STi, and by Prodrive in 1993, the Impreza obtained the designation “555”, due to the sponsor of the time, the tobacco company with the same name, which also “lent it” a different decoration and which became iconic.
The Japanese model kept its mechanical and aesthetic configuration until 1996, when it was replaced by a new two-door version.
It is recalled that Subaru competed in the World Rally Championship between 1993 and 2008 and managed to win three Drivers' World Championships (Colin McRae in 1995, Richard Burns in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003) and three Manufacturers' Championships (1995, 1996 and 1997).
His rally debut took place in 1993, by the hand of Ari Vatanen, at the 1000 Lagos Rally, in Finland. McRae made his debut at the wheel of a car of the Japanese brand in the Rally Great Britain of the same year.
As for the unit that we bring you here and which is on sale at the Ruote Da Sogno dealership in Italy, it is the only one that has kept “the original combination of number plate and chassis”.
And this starts right away as being the first major reason for interest around this copy. Prodrive used to resell Subaru Impreza STi chassis to different teams, which were then “rescued” with different number plates.
This unit, with chassis number PRO STi 93 002, was driven by Colin McRae himself during tests in preparation for the 1993 Rally Sweden, which makes it very special.
However, the details around the mechanics are practically non-existent, not least because this unit was used in the development of the car in the following years.
The Italian company responsible for the sale only reveals the price of this Subaru Impreza STi upon request, but if we take into account that in 2017 an Impreza used by McRae in preparation for the 1997 season was sold for 262 000 euros, we realize that this copy could yield a similar value.
