Friday 2nd May 2008

SOTW: Subaru Legacy

This week it's that other Subaru...

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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

[Bobdenero]

Looks like good value for under a grand, cant agree with your comments about it getting the nod over an Impreza though

[jas16]

insurance group is a tad on the high side

but its no bad looker for the price...but i did like the merc though previously

[shouldbworking]

Ooh I remember passengering in one of these unassuming cars through wales. I was so surprised at just how good and quick it was!

Still £999...... not cheap enough, id rather have a ropey classic impreza for a few quid more

Edited by shouldbworking on Friday 2nd May 15:51

[NiallOswald]

Now that's more like it! Good find.

[john_r]

£999 with group 17 insurance - for most people the insurance will be more than the car...

I think an actual shed may be a better investment?

[Vooley]

I love the wolf in sheeps clothing thing its got going on!

[chippy17]

the original fast farmers friend, nice

[M3John]

Vooley said:

I love the wolf in sheeps clothing thing its got going on!

Have to agree with you here sir !

Not a bad find for under a Grand.

[stuartbuckell]

Looks horrid...

[pugmanic]

One of the best sounding Rally cars of all time IMHO.

[Chris71]

M3John said:

Vooley said:

I love the wolf in sheeps clothing thing its got going on!

Have to agree with you here sir !

Not a bad find for under a Grand.

A guy I used to know had an ex Dave Richards Legacy. It was basically a full group A rally car underneath, but looked totally standard (even a little tatty) on the outside. That used to surprise a lot of people. Not to mention frighten the be-jesus out of anyone he took out.

[TEKNOPUG]

What's the reliablity/condition gonna be at sub £2k sheddy prices? Do they withstand high mileage? Any know week points - turbos, gearbox, diffs etc? Cheap and easy to get more power or are the turbos pretty much on the limit of their boost?

[acefacespace]

subaru engines are pretty weak long term, need to check for engine knocking and piston slap. The rest of the car is pretty durable though.

[Road_Terrorist]

acefacespace said:

subaru engines are pretty weak long term, need to check for engine knocking and piston slap. The rest of the car is pretty durable though.

You forgot the chocolate gearbox.

[cjbolter]

Hey Guys, FYI, I ran a Legacy Twin Turbo Estate for 7 years, yes seven years, cos I couldnt find anything better. Quite serious. Engine was great, turbos were great, gearbox was great, absolutely no rust.

Admittedly I didnt get it for under £1000, !!!!????. I am telling you about this as an indication of reliability and cost off ownership.

Subarus are made by an offshoot of Fuji Heavy Industries. They build oil rigs, planes and ships amongst other things. Build quality is excellent.

The chrome disappeared off the grille surround at 100k, didnt flake, just turned black !!.
The airflow meter failed at approx 130k miles, and the air con pump drive clutch packed in at 160k miles.
The most reliable and cheapest ( maintenance wise ) car I ever had, untill I found my current beast !!.

Subaru Forester STI !!??. Fantastic. Brembos,Bilsteins,Recaros,6-speed, WOW !!.

VBR CJ.

[belleair302]

I ran the third last one that came into the UK, back in 1994/5. Fantastic engine, let down by the gearbox. However the build quality was outstanding, the suspension and damping amazing and I covered 64,000 miles in three years, in all weathers and it NEVER went wrong. Great cars for tuning too, even back then. A top car for peanuts!!

[Toltec]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/421018.htm

seb said:

apart from that the car is mint

[massive1]

I had a legacy turbo estate ( nicknamed the bus )that was formerly owned by Dave Richards wife.
Same colour as this one but it was a bit of a nail , auto the manual conversion that didnt quite work.

My friend killed it during a head on with a post office van on a muddy single track road in wales

[krusty]

I had a '92 version identical to this (albeit it was 1994) and it was superb. Even had a letter published in Performance Car magazine praising it…
I sold it at 149K miles for 2K less than I had paid for it 5 years earlier.

[CypherP]

Toltec said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/421018.htm

seb said:

apart from that the car is mint

I just love the literacy of some of the people who advertise in the classifieds... anyone else care to muse with me at the way seb is spelling 'exhaust'?

Edited by CypherP on Friday 2nd May 16:59