Almost every car enthusiast has their own story of ‘the one that got away’. You know, the car that you should have/would have/could have bought when they were cheap and plentiful, but didn’t. And then twenty years later, you’re telling some friends in the pub about the time you passed on the Escort RS1800/240Z/Mini Cooper S, and how you’ll never get an opportunity like that again.
Well, you just might still have that opportunity with Subaru’s first GC8 generation of Impreza WRX. They are yet to completely shake the boy-racer image, but lurking under that ram-raider status are all the hallmarks of a dead-set future classic.
The first WRX was a rally homologation special in the purest sense (WRX stands for World Rally eXperimental), and Colin McRae drove one to victory in the 1995 World Championship. The WRX offers genuinely thrilling performance, and it was an icon to a generation of kids who could never afford one, let alone insure one. Even 23 years after its launch, it’s already becoming difficult to find clean, original cars that haven’t been modified, raced or crashed. If you look at it that way, the WRX is a modern Escort RS1800 – and look at what’s happened to values of those.
Online auction house The Market are currently listing this 1995 Impreza Series McRae edition. It was produced in the UK by Prodrive, who built the Group A rally cars and ran the factory team, as a limited run of 200 cars to celebrate McRae’s emotional victory. Not only was it his first, but he became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship, too. It was also Subaru’s first World Championship as a manufacturer. No wonder a limited edition was called for.
Series McRae cars were painted a special shade of blue called Rally Mica, and were fitted with gold Speedline Safari wheels which echoed those of the rally car. Unique interior trim and Recaro seats were fitted, and numbered badging both inside and out round the changes. This particular example is in original condition, down to its factory Subaru radio, and benefits from significant renovation work and a recent complete engine rebuild by a Subaru dealer.
At £13,750, this example isn’t cheap. But when you take into account how rare unmolested early Subaru’s have become and what has happened to the values of similar rally homologation specials of the sixties and seventies, it begins to make more sense. Especially when you consider that Generation Y are reaching a stage of affluence and can now afford the toys that were out of reach in their youth, its only a matter of time until the market begins to move.
As a point of comparison, we look to Australia and Mossgreen’s 2017 Motorclassica auction, held in October. They raised £13,745 for a 1996 WRX sedan with 14,500 miles, and £43,579 for a 1999 STi Version 5 Coupe with just 4300miles. It suggests that the market is on the move for the right cars, and that there are already buyers out there willing to pay for them. Get in now before it’s too late.
It’s impossible to discuss early WRX’s and McRae limited editions without jumping to YouTube to relive the glory days of Group A WRC. Enjoy.