Ahh, Subarus – fantastic cars aren’t they? The Impreza P1, the Impreza RB5, the Impreza STi, the Type 25 Spec-C (Impreza) and even the good old Impreza WRX, all are classics in their own right. You would think with that much success with the Impreza the company would develop more than just the one model? Well in fact, they do apparently. Something called the Justy (which is boring) and this, the modestly titled ‘Legacy’.
Obviously nothing to do with every week we fail to find even the ropiest Impreza turbo for a grand, we bring you this, the Subaru Legacy 2.0 litre 4 Cam Turbo. But this isn’t some big version of the Impreza that Subaru chucked in the turbo’s engine to make it go faster, the Legacy is steeped in rallying history of its own. In fact the very creation of the Impreza turbo is due in part to the Legacy you see before you.
The Legacy was campaigned by the Subaru World Rally Team, with help from Prodrive, in the world championships from 1990. In 1992 the car was piloted by experienced driver Ari Vatanen and future driving legend Colin McRae. Another British rising star Richard Burns also drove a Legacy during 1992 before driving an Impreza for Subaru. The Legacy was marginally successful as a rally car but it was thought to be too big and unwieldy for rallying and thus made way for the smaller, more nimble Impreza, which went on to achieve cult status with petrol heads. And as the Impreza rose and rose, so these early 2.0 4 Cam Turbo Legacys were forgotten, forever to live in the shadow of its younger brother.
But that’s good news for us, as the Impreza prices stay buoyant so the Legacy has become one of the all-time performance bargains. Have a look at this Legacy: it looks totally standard, apart from an aftermarket, but tasteful, steering wheel. See the discreet bonnet vent, the grey alloys, and the large exhaust pipe poking out. The car is perfectly understated but with a nod to the performance that lies beneath. If you look at the Legacy rally cars from the nineties they don’t look too far removed from this, with bigger wheels and numbers on the sides.
There’s so many Imprezas around that in a way (and I hope this doesn’t offend too many people) this looks even better - stealthier, less showy. These 200bhp rally stage refugees should crack 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and go on to almost 140mph. This example we found on autotrader.co.uk is a 1994 L reg, and although it doesn’t mention MOT it looks like a half-decent dealership so my money is on there being some tax and test. As I write this, RacingPete has started musing that he could get one of these to tow his Ginetta, so if you want one, get in there quick…
Ad reads: 1994 L Reg SUBARU Legacy 2.0 4 Cam Turbo, £999. Manual, 1998 cc, L reg. Petrol, RED. Insurance Group:17, £999
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