Subaru Impreza WRX GB270 Sport Wagon | Spotted

There never was a 'hawk eye' STI wagon, but Prodrive's one-of-100 special came mighty close

Long before Subaru launched STI in the UK, Prodrive was already doing its best to provide Britain with a steady stream of pumped-up WRXs for rally fans to live out their Colin McRae fantasies by sliding into ditches. The Series McRae, RB5 and P1 (plus the non-Prodrive Turbo 2000) were the fast Imprezas of the '90s, and although we’d get the 22B at the end of the decade there wouldn’t be a proper STI in the UK until the ‘bug eye’ arrived at the turn of the millennium - and you can’t help but think that came as the result of the demand for fast Subarus created by Prodrive.

Even with the barrage of STI specials during the '00s, the best stuff still came from Prodrive: namely the oh-so noughties WR1 built to celebrate Petter Solberg’s title in 2003 and the menacing RB320 that marked the many achievements of the late Richard Burns. Moreover, the boffins in Banbury also worked their rally magic on some of the regular Imprezas, which essentially served as a more affordable sub-STI WRX. These included the UK300, bringing all the gold-wheeled glory of the rally car to the base-spec Impreza, and the GB270 just like the one we have here.

Sitting below the ‘hawk eye’ STI, the GB270 arrived in 2007 as a run-out special for the GD Impreza to commemorate all the successes Subaru and Prodrive had enjoyed at the Wales Rally GB, which it won nine times. While it was based on the standard car, it still received the punchiest 2.5-litre turbo flat-four which, combined with a high-flow fuel pump, bigger exhaust and a remap as part of the Prodrive Performance Pack, dialled power up to 270hp - 40hp more than the base car and only 10hp shy of the STI. It was properly old school with just five speeds, but a Prodrive quick shifter made flicking through gears more snappy. A sub-five second 0-62mph time was quoted, too.

There’s more Prodrive goodness underneath. The rally team fitted its own sports suspension, lowering the ride height by 30mm up front and 10mm at the rear, as well as an anti-roll bar at the back, which helped to nail down the handling of the standard car. And of course it wouldn’t be a Prodrive special without a new set of alloy wheels (18-inch on the GB270) a beefier body kit and a mesh grille, which is thankfully black on this car as opposed to the chintzier silver option.

What’s extra special about this particular GB270 is that it’s a Sports Wagon. An Impreza estate is always going to score more kudos points, but the GB270 version is especially cool because it’s the fastest hawk-eyed wagon ever made. Subaru released STI versions of the bug and blob eye Sport Wagons in Japan, but it never got around to doing the same for the final facelift. Besides, the JDM specials come with equal-length headers and therefore don’t make the sort of burble the GB270 does - which is obviously a pretty big deal in Subaru circles.

They’re incredibly rare, too. Prodrive specials were often only built in the hundreds, with the GB270 being no exception: just 400 examples were produced for 2007 and only 100 of those were Sport Wagons. Couple rarity with the optional Alcantara seat upgrade on this 72,000-mile example and you get an asking price of £17,995. That’s STI money, frankly, and this non-wagon GB270 with a few more miles on the clock can be had for around £7k less. But the car we have here is naturally rarer, in superb condition and has a full service history to boot. Does it warrant the price jump? You decide.

SPECIFICATION | SUBARU IMPREZA WRX GB270 SPORT WAGON

Engine: 2,457cc flat-four, turbocharged
Transmission: five-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 270@5,700rpm
Torque (lb ft): 310@3,000rpm
MPG: 27.4
CO2: 244g/km
Year registered: 2007
Recorded mileage: 72,000
Price new: £22,995 (saloon)
Yours for: £17,995