Prodrive P25 full track review: Is the ultimate Impreza worth £550,000?

Built to celebrate Subaru’s golden era of rallying, Prodrive’s restomod special is one of just 25 examples worldwide. Join Gordon Shedden and Vicki Butler-Henderson as they push it to the limit around Knockhill.

If there’s one car that’s had no shortage of special editions over the years, it’s Subaru’s rally-bred Impreza. Look back at the lineage and you’ll find model designations which sound like someone tipped a Scrabble board over a Sudoku puzzle. RB320, CS400, Turbo 2000, and, of course, the WRX STi tS Type RA NBR Challenge​​. 

However, it’s this car, the P25, which is arguably the most special — and almost definitely the most expensive — road-going Impreza ever made. Created by the same British rally legends who ran Subaru’s WRC team in the late 90s, this ultra-rare offering is the ultimate expression of what a classic Impreza can be. 

So you can understand why Gordan and Vicki are thrilled to be thrown the keys for a day. But, before they take to the track for some flying laps, the DriverReview’s duo explain what makes this Prodrive machine so special.  

Tipping the scales at just 1,200 kg — thanks to extensive use of materials like carbon fibre — the restomod P25 is actually lighter than the first-ever Impreza WRC car. What’s more, that fabled flat-four 2.5-litre motor is hand-assembled by the same man who powered rally heroes like Collin McRae and Richard Burns, to success. That means bespoke internals including new cylinder liners, pistons, conrods and variable cam timing, for a grand total of 440 bhp.

And the end result? An explosive 0-60 mph time in the low 3 second range, which they sample from the off. But as Gordon cycles through the P25’s different driving modes, it’s clear the chassis is just as impressive. Thanks to Machperson struts and Bilstein dampers tweaked by Prodrive to offer maximum grip on track, the Impreza makes light work of Knockhill’s tight and technical layout. Then, as the pièce de resistance, a hydraulic flyaway handbrake disengages the centre differential and helps Gordon negotiate the final hairpin in true WRC style.

But is the P25 more than a one trick pony? Vicki takes the wheel for a blast on local Scottish B-roads, to find out. From rolling anti-lag to a total absence of driver aids, hit the video for her final verdict.

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