RE: One-owner Subaru Impreza RB5 for sale

[anonymous-user]

epom said:

I thought the Prodrive Pack had the bigger spoiler ??
I’m sure the light covers were removable so wouldn’t be too worried about them not being on.

Yes it did, I don't think this is a Prodrive. As others have said, this has the exact same 218BHP as a standard Impreza Turbo and the only difference is a unique paint code and a few stickers.

I had a brand new Impreza Turbo in 2000, one of the last of the classic models and even back then I didn't think it felt very quick. I was actually so unimpressed with it I sold it at 22 months old and could only get £12,700 for it with 17K miles on the clock.

We all know that nostalgia is a powerful drug and looking back I really wish I hadn't sold it and just kept it in a garage instead.

[TEKNOPUG]

SimonTheSailor said:

I was expecting £15K or so - bloody hell.

I wouldn't really want to drive it anywhere if I spent that much - I mean you would want to take it to some slippery country lanes wouldn't you ?

£15k is where I would be on it also.

[fred bloggs]

trails said:

; dialed out the understeer entirely.

Really ? did the roll bar move the engine and box back 2 foot as well. ? Sorry to be a bit troll on this thread, but I gotta call it out sometimes.

[GTRene]

Never owned a special version of the Subaru Impreza turbo, I owned 2 normal ones though, they drove really good, had fantastic seats etc for the money a nice package.

Also still thinks those models were the best looking Impreza's.

Owned a 1998 green example and later a 1999 silver example.

my then 1998 car



my then 1999 car

[Carlson W6]

My WR Prodrive.

Owned since new.

Still have it with 65K on the clock.

Readers car thread here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by Carlson W6 on Friday 26th November 17:03

[Chunkychucky]

Augustus Windsock said:

I had dialled the torque split towards the rear of the car and as I turned off on the A617 towards Mansfield I floored it. Absolute pedal to the metal
It hunkered down with just a slight whiff of oversteer before catapulting down the dual carriageway.
Can’t imagine my ‘Classic’ irrespective of its power deficit, quite doing the same

Interesting, my friend's WR1 we took out for an exploratory jaunt with the purpose of testing the DCCD, granted compared to your experience the roads were greasy as opposed to try, but all it did was power understeer, regardless of where the dial appeared to be set; my friend was most disappointed as he reckoned the car to feel identical to his '04 Type UK STI which he'd had before, hence the relatively short tenure in his fleet.

In comparison my Turbo 2000 wagon was awesome for 4 wheel drifts/powerslides in the damp - go in to a corner/roundabout on a trailing throttle at reasonable revs, give it a goading flick on entry and the weight transfer would sling the arse wide, at which point you could dial a nudge of oppo in to the wheel and let the 4 wheels spin up in boost, then play about with whatever angle you desired. Superb fun for a bog standard family estate car, besides the S/S Prodrive back box.

[evojam]

TEKNOPUG said:

£15k is where I would be on it also.

15K!!??

Very fairly priced at 40k,will be sold before the New Year I'd expect..

Edited by evojam on Friday 26th November 17:00

[LotusOmega375D]

Whilst we’re on the subject, how about some more models of cars associated with the name of a famous racing driver? The lead story mentions a few, so here’s some more from me.

BMW M3 Johnny Cecotto
Mercedes Stirling Moss
McLaren Senna (2 for the price of one here)
Bugatti Chiron
Audi Nuvolari

[Prohibiting]

This is laughably overpriced for what is basically a Turbo 2000 with a few extra bits.

If you want a proper classic Impreza, import an STI version (280bhp, higher red line, few other bits etc) from Japan for similar money. It’ll blow it away and appreciate just as much.

Edited by Prohibiting on Friday 26th November 17:06

[trails]

fred bloggs said:

Really ? did the roll bar move the engine and box back 2 foot as well. ? Sorry to be a bit troll on this thread, but I gotta call it out sometimes.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so troll away...but from personal experience, a 22mm rear ARB transforms the car. I've had my MY00 wagon since early 2003.

[trails]

Chunkychucky said:

Augustus Windsock said:

I had dialled the torque split towards the rear of the car and as I turned off on the A617 towards Mansfield I floored it. Absolute pedal to the metal
It hunkered down with just a slight whiff of oversteer before catapulting down the dual carriageway.
Can’t imagine my ‘Classic’ irrespective of its power deficit, quite doing the same

Interesting, my friend's WR1 we took out for an exploratory jaunt with the purpose of testing the DCCD, granted compared to your experience the roads were greasy as opposed to try, but all it did was power understeer, regardless of where the dial appeared to be set; my friend was most disappointed as he reckoned the car to feel identical to his '04 Type UK STI which he'd had before, hence the relatively short tenure in his fleet.

In comparison my Turbo 2000 wagon was awesome for 4 wheel drifts/powerslides in the damp - go in to a corner/roundabout on a trailing throttle at reasonable revs, give it a goading flick on entry and the weight transfer would sling the arse wide, at which point you could dial a nudge of oppo in to the wheel and let the 4 wheels spin up in boost, then play about with whatever angle you desired. Superb fun for a bog standard family estate car, besides the S/S Prodrive back box.

No idea how he managed power understeer if had dialled the bias all the way to the rear...never seen/heard of that issue before.

The standard diffs were OK, but nowhere near as effective (or nice) to play with in comparison to the plated diffs in the sti models.

[samoht]

LotusOmega375D said:

Whilst we’re on the subject, how about some more models of cars associated with the name of a famous racing driver? The lead story mentions a few, so here’s some more from me.

BMW M3 Johnny Cecotto
Mercedes Stirling Moss
McLaren Senna (2 for the price of one here)
Bugatti Chiron
Audi Nuvolari

a couple spring to mind, both rally-related:

Celica Turbo 4WD Carlos Sainz Edition (good)
Citroen C4 'By Loeb' (bad)

I also like the road cars carrying the name of non-works racing teams, like the Clio Williams and Civic Jordan.

There's also an example of the opposite, a famous racing driver who was named after a road car - Jenson Button.

[86wasagoodyear]

That is a great car, but 40 grand ?? Ouch. Only if my Euromillions numbers come up.

[plenty]

Ian974 said:

Indeed, I have a copy of Evo somewhere that puts all the best Impreza’s against each other which the RB5 happened to win.

I've always liked evo but their obsession with the RB5 damages their credibility.

Other than paint and stickers the differences between the base RB5 and the UK Turbo 2000 were:

1. 17" Speedline wheels versus 16" Subaru items
2. A solid rear bulkhead.

TBF I've not driven an RB5 but I cannot believe that heavier wheels and the equivalent of a rear strut brace make for the mythical machine that they describe. So instead of heaping praise on the RB5 over the years as if it were something unique, they really ought to refer to the Turbo 2000 instead.

[trails]

Joey Deacon said:

epom said:

I thought the Prodrive Pack had the bigger spoiler ??
I’m sure the light covers were removable so wouldn’t be too worried about them not being on.

Yes it did, I don't think this is a Prodrive. As others have said, this has the exact same 218BHP as a standard Impreza Turbo and the only difference is a unique paint code and a few stickers.

I had a brand new Impreza Turbo in 2000, one of the last of the classic models and even back then I didn't think it felt very quick. I was actually so unimpressed with it I sold it at 22 months old and could only get £12,700 for it with 17K miles on the clock.

We all know that nostalgia is a powerful drug and looking back I really wish I hadn't sold it and just kept it in a garage instead.

You are getting confused between the Prodrive Performance Pack and the WR Sport package; the PPP is an ecu and exhaust upgrade only...advert states it is a PPP with 240bhp.

[trails]

plenty said:

Ian974 said:

Indeed, I have a copy of Evo somewhere that puts all the best Impreza’s against each other which the RB5 happened to win.

I've always liked evo but their obsession with the RB5 damages their credibility.

Other than paint and stickers the differences between the base RB5 and the UK Turbo 2000 were:

1. 17" Speedline wheels versus 16" Subaru items
2. A solid rear bulkhead.

TBF I've not driven an RB5 but I cannot believe that heavier wheels and the equivalent of a rear strut brace make for the mythical machine that they describe. So instead of heaping praise on the RB5 over the years as if it were something unique, they really ought to refer to the Turbo 2000 instead.

There is no solid rear bulkhead, I've helped strip and cage one of these.

[TEKNOPUG]

evojam said:

TEKNOPUG said:

£15k is where I would be on it also.

15K!!??

Very fairly priced at 40k,will be sold before the New Year I'd expect..

Edited by evojam on Friday 26th November 17:00

It's the least desirable Classic Impreza with some baubles on it. Who in their right mind would pay £40k for it?! It's not even especially low mileage. No photos underneath or any of the usual rust spots.

[Augustus Windsock]

trails said:

No idea how he managed power understeer if had dialled the bias all the way to the rear...never seen/heard of that issue before.

The standard diffs were OK, but nowhere near as effective (or nice) to play with in comparison to the plated diffs in the sti models.

I didn’t say ‘power oversteer’, I said a whiff of, the former intimates to me how my old RS Cosworth used to stick its back end out.
And it depends how you approach a bend/corner don’t forget, a lift of throttle immediately followed by a judicious jump on the throttle and….
Anyhoo….

[samoht]

evojam said:

TEKNOPUG said:

£15k is where I would be on it also.

15K!!??

Very fairly priced at 40k,will be sold before the New Year I'd expect..

Not clear why it's worth almost triple this £15k example
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110178...
sure the feature car is worth a bit more for its lower mileage, but 40k is hardly collector originality to be worth multiples of the normal going rate.

[plenty]

trails said:

There is no solid rear bulkhead, I've helped strip and cage one of these.

Thanks for clarifying, and apologies for perpetuating the urban myth. So if anything the base RB5 will handle worse than the UK2000 as the only difference is bigger wheels.