1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type R | PH Fleet
Ben's childhood dream finally comes true. Was it worth the wait?
Whoever coined the phrase ‘never meet your heroes’ clearly never drove a classic Subaru Impreza. It must have been the same person who said money can’t buy happiness, as money bought me this 1998 WRX STI V4 Type R, and it makes me very happy indeed. Nine years on from selling my 2003 Blobeye Impreza WRX STI Type UK, it’s remarkable really that it has taken me this long to buy my first classic. Or GC8. Or Meaneye.
Whatever you call it, it’s the OG Subaru Impreza that led to Subaru winning the World Rally Championship manufacturer’s title three times in a row, as well as three driver titles for Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg. I came incredibly close to buying an RB5 when I was 21 and I’m still gutted that I didn’t. But the reality is I would have probably wrapped it around a tree, and I definitely didn’t keep cars long enough that it would still be with me now. Not much has changed there, but once again, I’ll start off by saying this is a keeper. Just like the last two cars I’ve bought and since sold.
My dad took my brother and me to our first rally at the age of 11, where I was fortunate enough to meet Colin McRae and Nicky Grist and get their autograph. I still have it alongside some other bloke called Tommi Makinen. But you’re either a Subaru or a Mitsubishi guy (or gal), and our household was firmly in the blue and yellow camp. We’ll all have dream cars that we want to own at some point in our lives, whether from our childhood or current day. But arguably the bonds we have with the cars from our formative years are the strongest - and most emotional.
I expect like most PHers, there’s always a number of cars we’re keeping an eye on in the market. Harlow Jap Autos had a beautiful V6 Type RA for sale in the classifieds for ages, with the rare Sport front bumper giving it 22B vibes on a budget. I’d often toyed with trying to buy it, but ultimately wanted a two-door. Ironically, the previous owner of J24 WRC had applied to come to the PistonHeads Annual Service twice as a display car and failed to make it both times due to other commitments. I’d planned to collar him there and ask him about buying it, but no such luck.
So naturally I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it was up for sale – third time lucky, right? Albeit with a dealer who’d bought it off Paul, but after tracking him down on the Type RA forum, he was kind enough to let me bore him to death with endless questions. The primary one being, why the hell would you sell it? He’d had it for 13 years after all and paid a measly £4,250 for it after finding it for sale in the PistonHeads classifieds, compared to the £31,000 I stumped up. But it turned out he’d been offered a Group N Impreza rally car project that he couldn’t say no to, so that seemed a good enough reason to me.
What exactly is a Type R Impreza, you ask? Well, like many cars strictly sold in the Japanese Domestic Market, they were deemed too good for us Brits. Happily, plenty have been imported since, and this one actually came over to the UK brand new in 1998. The UK Subaru Impreza P1 is the better-known two-door given it was developed with Prodrive and sold here, yet ask serious Subaru enthusiasts, and the Type R is the one to have. Assuming you don’t have £200k+ to get into a 22B these days.
Both the Type R and Type RA came with Driver Controlled Centre Differential (DCCD), giving you the ability to adjust distribution of drive between the front and rear axles. As more focused, lightweight versions designed with rallying in mind, there’s little to no sound deadening here, giving you the most visceral experience of that iconic EJ20 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four Boxer engine.
With 280bhp going to all four wheels via a (very) short ratio strengthened five-speed gearbox and weighing about the same as my Mk8 Ford Fiesta ST at 1,260kg, it’s a very special recipe indeed. This is my first '90s performance car, and boy, what an experience. I’m head over heels in love. At 28 years young, the underside is remarkable, and buying a solid chassis is the number one priority in today’s market. The outside of the car wears a commensurate level of patina, while the interior is remarkably clean. And just look at the engine bay – suffice to say it was in very good hands before me, so thank you, Paul, for taking such good care of it.
I’m naturally daydreaming about a full-blown acid dip restoration at some point, but for now, I’m simply trying to make the best of the sunny weather while it lasts. And if you fancy joining me on my Subaru ownership journey, you could always consider bidding on RacingPete’s V2 Wagon live on PistonHeads Auctions right now. It must be somebody's childhood dream, right?
FACT SHEET
Car: 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Version 4 Type R
Run by: Ben Lowden
On fleet since: September 2026
Mileage: 107,284km
Modifications: Hayward & Scott Group A exhaust system, Scoobyworld mud flaps, Sparco steering wheel
) Decided not to in the end as I figured it would be a bit like decaffeinated coffee, I.e missing it's USP.
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