Description
Subaru built 400 examples of the Impreza 22B to mark the brand's 40th anniversary, and all 400 sold on the day they went on sale. The 22B took the GC8 WRC-homologation Impreza and pushed it further in every direction: the EJ engine grew to 2.2 litres, producing 280 horsepower; the body received unique wide-arch coachwork by STI; the suspension was tuned specifically for road use rather than tarmac rally stages. It was wider, lower, and more aggressively finished than the standard car. It was also restricted to the Japanese domestic market, which made it immediately desirable to everyone who couldn't buy one.
The Hot Wheels Car Culture Circuit Legends release captures the 22B in its definitive form — wide-arch GC8 in rally blue, the colour combination that defines the car in collective memory. Premium casting, authentic deco. The 22B has become one of the most valuable Subarus in the collector market because it represents the clearest statement of what Subaru was at its WRC peak: a small company making one of the fastest road cars in the world, and limiting it to 400 buyers.