2000 Subaru Impreza P1

There are two former keepers not two owners from new as erroneously catalogued

Built at Subaru's Fuji Heavy Industries plant in Japan and honed by rally 'royalty', Prodrive, the Impreza P1 was always destined to become the hugely desirable modern classic that we rightfully see it as today. Built in a limited run of just 1,000 cars, every one featured the iconic Blue Mica paintwork, Anthracite 17-inch OZ racing wheels and a plethora of upgrades and unique features. It's easy to see why the P1 has gained such a cult following.

Based on the two-door bodyshell, with the aerodynamics enhanced by Peter Stevens of McLaren F1 fame, beefier running gear and a fabulous suspension setup by Prodrive, the P1 has more in common with the legendary Impreza 22B than its larger four-door Impreza WRX contemporaries. Developed with British B-Roads in mind, by the very same company which helped the likes of Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg win World Rally Championships, the ‘Prodrive One’ was intended to counter the wave of ‘grey import’ STI Type Rs coming from Japan.

The upgrades to the P1 were extensive, but not intrusive. The list includes a more powerful 280bhp engine (up 69bhp from a standard Impreza Turbo), mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with longer gearing, and ABS brakes meaning the difference between a standard Impreza and a P1 is minimal. Further upgrades include a big-bore exhaust, quick-shift gear linkage, 17-inch Titanium-finish alloy wheels and a rally-proven suspension set-up. With the sprint from 0-60 taking just 4.66 seconds, the P1 certainly has the bite to match the bark.

First registered on the 7th September 2000, this P1 presents exceptionally well in totally standard specification and has just two former keepers who have covered around 64,000 miles between them. It has been meticulously looked after, with our vendor describing the service history as ‘impeccable’ with service stamps at least once a year from new, the most recent of which included a new clutch, cambelt, brake callipers, discs and pads.

The car was cared for by its first owner for the best part of 20 years before being sold to our vendor. The history file includes a plethora of past invoices and the service book is stamped in line with usage throughout the car's life. The MOT history records the incremental mileage increases of the past decade, averaging approximately 3,000 miles or so travelled per year from new.

With soaring prices of Japanese domestic market cars, and 22Bs heading well north of £100,000 in recent years, this really smart, low mileage, two-owner P1 seems exceptionally good value in comparison, and is ready to carry on doing the things that Imprezas do best.