Another Ultra-Rare Subaru Prototype Is for Sale
This was the 1997 Subaru Impreza 22B prototype displayed at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. It's expected to fetch big bucks.
Are you a serious Subaru super fan? Do you daily drive an Impreza and are already on the pre-order list for the new BRZ tS? Do you also just happen to have a ton of cash sitting in your bank account? Then, you may want to pay attention. An iconic piece of Subaru's history could be yours if you have the financial fortitude to make it happen. For some background, let's rewind back to 1997.
Subaru was celebrating its 40th anniversary and its third consecutive WRC championship thanks to a hot shot young driver named Colin McRae—maybe you've heard of him? Anyhow, there was plenty of reason to celebrate, so in typical automaker fashion Subaru decided to build a road-going version of its upcoming 1998 WRC racer, the 22B.
The Subaru Impreza 22B was given a limited 400 unit run exclusively for the Japanese market. While each of production vehicles were numbered 1 through 400, several pre-production models were numbered "000." Another #000—one given to Colin McRae himself—will go under the hammer at Silverstone Auctions on August 26. As cool as McRae's 22B is, this is the prototype that was displayed at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show, making it one of the rarest JDM unicorn cars in existence.
The Tokyo prototype is going up for sale during the Quail Auction starting on August 18. This #000 chassis only has 43 miles on the clock and has been kept in mint condition for the last 26 years. Considering the condition of the car, its rarity, and its low miles, Bonhams estimates that the car will bring in anywhere from $450,000 to $550,000 once the auction gavel drops. If the car does fetch that much, it will be among the most expensive JDM collector cars in the world.
If you want to add this mint-condition, extremely rare Subaru Impreza 22B to your collection, then we suggest getting your finances in order now because you'll probably be up against some stiff competition.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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