Ultra-Rare Subaru Impreza 22B STi Goes Up for Auction – Bidding Goes Past $150,000
If you’re a fan of road-going rally cars, you’ll know that the Subaru Impreza 22B STi is one of the rarest and most desirable models on the planet. Since Subaru only built 400 examples of the 22B, none of which came to the U.S., this is a car you’ll likely never see in person.
According to Bring A Trailer, the car listed for sale made its way into the U.S. last summer under the “show or display” exemption. Since then, it’s had some minor servicing showing just 25,000 miles on the clock. While there are 12 days left on the auction, the selling price has already soared past $150,000.
Why is the Subaru Impreza 22B STi so expensive?
As you might imagine, the Subaru Impreza 22B STi is no regular Impreza. In fact, the Japanese carmaker built it back in the 1990s to celebrate its 40th anniversary and its third World Rally Championship win.
All of these cars feature the same paint scheme, World Rally Blue with gold BBS wheels. Under the hood lives a 2.2-liter flat-four engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Total power is rated a 280 hp and 286 lb-ft.
As you’d expect from a rally car, power goes to all four wheels. Unlike the standard model, the Subaru Impreza 22B STi gets completely bespoke bodywork and an adjustable rear wing.
According to Bring A Trailer, the 22B features ProDrive-tuned suspension with Bilstein shocks, a quick-ratio steering gear, and a carbon fiber strut tower bar.
How many 22B’s are there left?
While the Subaru Impreza 22B STi would’ve undoubtedly sold well across the globe, just 400 examples left the production line. Subaru sold all of these cars exclusively to the Japanese market. For the most part, a large portion of the original production line remains in various collections worldwide. As a result, seeing one outside of Japan is already a massive deal.
Since Subaru never sold the 22B in the U.S., the car isn’t technically legal for most buyers. If you want to import one of these cars, you’ll have to wait until it becomes at least 25 years old. However, the Bring A Trailer seller managed to import this model with the “show or display” exemption.
For this exemption to work, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has to approve the car. Most notably, this restriction only allows the owner of the car to drive it up to 2,500 miles per year.
How much will this Subaru Impreza sell for?
As stated before, the auction for this Subaru Impreza 22B STi has already gone well past $150,000. Since these cars don’t sell very often, it isn’t easy to price them. However, Road & Track found an example listed for sale a few years ago with a $372,000 asking price. However, it is worth noting that this other example had just 271 miles on the clock.
Since the one on Bring A Trailer has around 25,000, it should sell for considerably less. Regardless, this 1990s rally car is now a six-figure collector’s item.
