Subaru Impreza WR Sport Prodrive
Discussion
I had a '01 Prodrive WR as well a few years ago, mine was the very last UK Impreza in the classic shape to come off the production line, probably worth quite a bit now!
I loved it though and the Subaru specialist I took it to had never had a WR before and he even was shocked at how well the car went in both a straight line and corners, we both agreed that it needed nothing doing to it, on the country roads it was un-touchable, only thing I did want to do to it though was the brakes, they weren't great and had a tendency to overheat.
I loved it though and the Subaru specialist I took it to had never had a WR before and he even was shocked at how well the car went in both a straight line and corners, we both agreed that it needed nothing doing to it, on the country roads it was un-touchable, only thing I did want to do to it though was the brakes, they weren't great and had a tendency to overheat.
Took the WRC for a blast this morning after a major service with all fluids changed at Bell and Colville.
It has a fresh MOT and another coat of under seal by them (last done in 2013).
It needs 4 new tyres and I'm in two minds between getting some Michelin PSS or putting some winter tyres on (any recommendations?).
The old tyres aren't worn out but starting to crack around the tyre walls which really tells a story of the cars easy life these last few years.
I am also considering a major body work refresh which may result in a respray,my only issue being finding someone I can trust to do a first class job,
Here is a picture this morning after filling with a nice tank of V power and doing a nice 20 mile drive.
It has a fresh MOT and another coat of under seal by them (last done in 2013).
It needs 4 new tyres and I'm in two minds between getting some Michelin PSS or putting some winter tyres on (any recommendations?).
The old tyres aren't worn out but starting to crack around the tyre walls which really tells a story of the cars easy life these last few years.
I am also considering a major body work refresh which may result in a respray,my only issue being finding someone I can trust to do a first class job,
Here is a picture this morning after filling with a nice tank of V power and doing a nice 20 mile drive.
Edited by Carlson W6 on Monday 26th December 15:21
Nice one. I had an RB5 WR sport which also coincidentally came from Cheam motors. I have the original dealer plate screwed into one of the roof beams in my garage along with other old reg plates I've owned.
the PIAA lights were amazing, as the standard Impreza headlights were awful. that and the fact that RB5 covers were rare as hens teeth meant 99% of the time I ran round with the covers safely in the house.
Lovely car, I'd love another Impreza, especially in your colour scheme (I went from a silver grey Impreza to a Blue M3, surely the wrong way around) - those Impreza rubbing strips on the doors are pretty rare too.
I think now if I got a classic it'd have to be a 3dr, Sonic blue (sorry I'm dreaming now
)
the PIAA lights were amazing, as the standard Impreza headlights were awful. that and the fact that RB5 covers were rare as hens teeth meant 99% of the time I ran round with the covers safely in the house.
Lovely car, I'd love another Impreza, especially in your colour scheme (I went from a silver grey Impreza to a Blue M3, surely the wrong way around) - those Impreza rubbing strips on the doors are pretty rare too.
I think now if I got a classic it'd have to be a 3dr, Sonic blue (sorry I'm dreaming now
)On the 1st of December i decided to try and be grown up and put the 911 away for the winter which mean't the scooby
became my daily driver.
First job that needed doing was some tyres.Ken at Bell and Colville had said the pirelli P-zero's had only just passed the MOT and
were showing signs of age on the edge,with some cracking.
I decided to do some research and go back into the history and work out how many miles they had done (i couldn't remember buying
them).Amazingly one pair was bought in 2006 and had reached 30,000 miles and the other pair was bought in 2007 and reached 26,000 miles.
Every year being swapped from front to rear at MOT time to wear the tread evenly.
I think this mileage shows the sort of life the scooby has had since i gave it to my wife and then sister to look after.
I decided to change tyre brands after putting some Michelins onto my other scooby i had for 5 years from 2007-2011.This was
a blobeye 2005 STI type UK and the tyre change to michelins was amazing.
So i bought some Michelin Pilot Super Sport for 580.00 including balancing,fitting VAT which i am pretty happy with.
The car feels amazing.
Other little issues to sort out - the very nice Kenwood 25th Anniversary single din CD/radio had decided not to power up while my sister was
looking after car.A trip to Auto Audio in Park Royal is always great as their workshop is always full of exotica and this time they showed me around their spotless paint shop and the restoration dept working on custom re-trims.
I ended up having a new Alpine set fitted,which has bluetooth for my i-phone which gives me hands free and streaming of my itunes from phone to car stereo.Amazing this modern technology.The Kenwood went off to be fixed as i couldn't bear to throw it away.It's just come back with a new ribbon that joins the motorised faceplate to the set,it cost 75 quid to fix,its a great set and will go into the work van.
The scooby has now done 66634 miles and is feeling as strong as ever.
After the PDK and traction control on the 911 it is a really visceral experience driving it,almost the polar opposite although being so similar in lots of ways which an irony (both 4wd and turbocharged).
Here are some pics after a quick wash today-
became my daily driver.
First job that needed doing was some tyres.Ken at Bell and Colville had said the pirelli P-zero's had only just passed the MOT and
were showing signs of age on the edge,with some cracking.
I decided to do some research and go back into the history and work out how many miles they had done (i couldn't remember buying
them).Amazingly one pair was bought in 2006 and had reached 30,000 miles and the other pair was bought in 2007 and reached 26,000 miles.
Every year being swapped from front to rear at MOT time to wear the tread evenly.
I think this mileage shows the sort of life the scooby has had since i gave it to my wife and then sister to look after.
I decided to change tyre brands after putting some Michelins onto my other scooby i had for 5 years from 2007-2011.This was
a blobeye 2005 STI type UK and the tyre change to michelins was amazing.
So i bought some Michelin Pilot Super Sport for 580.00 including balancing,fitting VAT which i am pretty happy with.
The car feels amazing.
Other little issues to sort out - the very nice Kenwood 25th Anniversary single din CD/radio had decided not to power up while my sister was
looking after car.A trip to Auto Audio in Park Royal is always great as their workshop is always full of exotica and this time they showed me around their spotless paint shop and the restoration dept working on custom re-trims.
I ended up having a new Alpine set fitted,which has bluetooth for my i-phone which gives me hands free and streaming of my itunes from phone to car stereo.Amazing this modern technology.The Kenwood went off to be fixed as i couldn't bear to throw it away.It's just come back with a new ribbon that joins the motorised faceplate to the set,it cost 75 quid to fix,its a great set and will go into the work van.
The scooby has now done 66634 miles and is feeling as strong as ever.
After the PDK and traction control on the 911 it is a really visceral experience driving it,almost the polar opposite although being so similar in lots of ways which an irony (both 4wd and turbocharged).
Here are some pics after a quick wash today-
After a wonderful winter using the Impreza as a daily driver I've taken it up to
Greg Howell at Southam Bodies to have the paint refreshed.
I'm waiting for his thoughts on how deep we are going to go and I'll keep you all posted.
After that I'm planning on sending the Prodrive Bilstein shocks off to Bikstein for a refresh/rebuild and
talking to API about a full bush/drop link etc refresh.
Greg Howell at Southam Bodies to have the paint refreshed.
I'm waiting for his thoughts on how deep we are going to go and I'll keep you all posted.
After that I'm planning on sending the Prodrive Bilstein shocks off to Bikstein for a refresh/rebuild and
talking to API about a full bush/drop link etc refresh.
A fellow year 2000 Impreza one owner here - yours is a good one. Like you I went in to buy an ordinary model and came out with a P1...
Now 6 speed, dccd, Alcon 6 pots, carbon prop etc and 566bhp via a 2.35litre with a Gt 35r turbo, but outwardly standard.
Now 6 speed, dccd, Alcon 6 pots, carbon prop etc and 566bhp via a 2.35litre with a Gt 35r turbo, but outwardly standard.
Edited by FBP1 on Saturday 4th March 17:05
Hi FBP1,
I have an admission to make-
I am super jealous of your car!
Not just because it is stunning but also because when I bought mine
I had two young kids and the missus would be using it while I was at work
to cart the kids around. She wanted a wagon and I tried very hard to persuade her
to let me buy a P1. The compromise was a 4 door WR Sport.
I love the car and have never regretted buying it but if there is one car that I feel
is "the one that got away" in my driving history it is the P1.
Only this week I saw a stunning standard P1 for sale at Oliver Davis Cars for 20K!
Please do a thread on yours, I'd love to read it.
I have an admission to make-
I am super jealous of your car!
Not just because it is stunning but also because when I bought mine
I had two young kids and the missus would be using it while I was at work
to cart the kids around. She wanted a wagon and I tried very hard to persuade her
to let me buy a P1. The compromise was a 4 door WR Sport.
I love the car and have never regretted buying it but if there is one car that I feel
is "the one that got away" in my driving history it is the P1.
Only this week I saw a stunning standard P1 for sale at Oliver Davis Cars for 20K!
Please do a thread on yours, I'd love to read it.
Thanks Carlson, I will try and dig out some photos and content and do a separate thread so as not to sully yours.
I didnt have kids when I bought it, but two years later I had two and at that point our other car was also a two door (Golf). I managed to hang on to it though and just got used to clambering into the back with car seats and so on. I then talked the other half into getting a kids wagon and the P1 was safe!
I didnt have kids when I bought it, but two years later I had two and at that point our other car was also a two door (Golf). I managed to hang on to it though and just got used to clambering into the back with car seats and so on. I then talked the other half into getting a kids wagon and the P1 was safe!
Might have a spot of grit in my eye, but am feeling a little nostalgic for my MY'98 STi IV wagon. Even with a 240PS map, the MK1.5 Impreza was an utter weapon. My first car was a Lancia Delta HF turbo, so can sympathise with the OP on that front....
Off to look at classifieds, hatching a plan to square it past the boss...
Off to look at classifieds, hatching a plan to square it past the boss...
ts of the interior...should have WR Sport script on the clock surround iirc?
No WR clock on mine- it's not listed in the brochure from that year.
My dealer negotiated with Prodrive to allow me to keep standard interior and upgrade to leather
instead of having the Recaro's that I felt were horrible looking at the time.
Prodrive allowed me to make that choice which some would say is a shame but I've always felt
makes my WR unique.The Leather has worn well and is still in great condition.
At the time,buying my first new car having leather was a must for me.
Here is a link to the brochure-
https://impreza.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prod...
My dealer negotiated with Prodrive to allow me to keep standard interior and upgrade to leather
instead of having the Recaro's that I felt were horrible looking at the time.
Prodrive allowed me to make that choice which some would say is a shame but I've always felt
makes my WR unique.The Leather has worn well and is still in great condition.
At the time,buying my first new car having leather was a must for me.
Here is a link to the brochure-
https://impreza.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Prod...
The WR has been at Greg Howells Southam Bodies for a paint refresh and general tidy up.
I got to know Greg when he was recommended to me by MRC Audi to do some bodywork on my RS6.
After a lot of research (i like researching people in the motortrade before i use them) i learned he was
well known on the VW show scene before moving onto Audi's and then again to Porsche.
He did a brilliant job on my Audi and while up at his place i got a feel for the first class restoration work he does on
Porsche and his attention to detail and passion for the job.
I decided the Scooby needed some body work love after being a London car it's whole life - people seem to find their place
in a parking spot by bumping into the car infront and behind.So the bumpers needed refreshing and lots of little
stone chips and general wear and tear of 17 years use needed attention.
Greg advised me against doing a full respray at this stage as he said the paint was pretty good and he made a very
important comment- "If you end up spraying the whole car you will feel it is too precious to drive it or park it anywhere".
As this car is my daily when the weather isn't great or i have to park somewhere a bit dodgy i didnt want to start seeing the
car as something that i didn't want to drive so i stuck with his advise on what to do which was
New Bumpers sourced from Subaru (the old bumpers had been blown over a couple of times by the main dealer as a tidy up and Greg wasn't happy with the quality of primer used and advised me to start again if i didn't want his paint lifting in a couple of years time).Looking at the way the previus paint was cracking and lifting from car park dings it was a good call).
Lift dents and car park dings around the whole car
Touch in stone chips
Paint roof
Refurbish wheels
Mop and polish.
I am very pleased with the job he did and had a lovely blast driving back down the M40 in the sun today with the car performing
as it should ;-)
I got to know Greg when he was recommended to me by MRC Audi to do some bodywork on my RS6.
After a lot of research (i like researching people in the motortrade before i use them) i learned he was
well known on the VW show scene before moving onto Audi's and then again to Porsche.
He did a brilliant job on my Audi and while up at his place i got a feel for the first class restoration work he does on
Porsche and his attention to detail and passion for the job.
I decided the Scooby needed some body work love after being a London car it's whole life - people seem to find their place
in a parking spot by bumping into the car infront and behind.So the bumpers needed refreshing and lots of little
stone chips and general wear and tear of 17 years use needed attention.
Greg advised me against doing a full respray at this stage as he said the paint was pretty good and he made a very
important comment- "If you end up spraying the whole car you will feel it is too precious to drive it or park it anywhere".
As this car is my daily when the weather isn't great or i have to park somewhere a bit dodgy i didnt want to start seeing the
car as something that i didn't want to drive so i stuck with his advise on what to do which was
New Bumpers sourced from Subaru (the old bumpers had been blown over a couple of times by the main dealer as a tidy up and Greg wasn't happy with the quality of primer used and advised me to start again if i didn't want his paint lifting in a couple of years time).Looking at the way the previus paint was cracking and lifting from car park dings it was a good call).
Lift dents and car park dings around the whole car
Touch in stone chips
Paint roof
Refurbish wheels
Mop and polish.
I am very pleased with the job he did and had a lovely blast driving back down the M40 in the sun today with the car performing
as it should ;-)
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 9th April 20:29
Edited by Carlson W6 on Sunday 9th April 20:33
Edited by Carlson W6 on Monday 1st February 13:22
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