Impreza special celebrates win

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Subaru has launched a new, more powerful version of the Impreza WRX STi to celebrate Petter Solberg’s victory in the World Rally Championship.

Just 500 of the WR1 cars will be offered to buyers from April this year at a cost of £29,995, £5000 more than a standard 262bhp STi.

Development work has not yet finished, but Subaru expects power to increase to around 316bhp. That should bring the Impreza’s 0-60mph time below five seconds, putting it in touch with the top-of-the-range £31,999 Mitsubishi Evo VIII FQ330 which cracks 60mph in 4.7 seconds.

Owners of the WR1 will be able to select the distribution of pulling power between the front and rear wheels. This way they can change the handling characteristics to provide sharper turn-in through corners or more stability in a straight line.

Uprated springs and dampers will also give the car greater grip and lower the ride height by 25mm.

Using the same six-speed manual gearbox as the rest of the range, the WR1 is distinguishable by its special 18-inch alloy wheels, stainless steel mesh grille, anthracite-colour seats and special gear knob, carpet mats and numbered tax disc holder.