Prodrive P25 Subaru Impreza Full Track Review: A £550,000 Masterclass in Motorsport Engineering

What Is the Prodrive P25?

The Prodrive P25 is a heavily re-engineered restomod and modern interpretation of the 1997 two-door Impreza World Rally Car. An original two-door Impreza WRX chassis forms the core of each car, the same base used for the first Impreza WRC, but Prodrive replaces much of the bodywork with carbon composite and completely reworks the powertrain, suspension and transmission.

The project marked 25 years since the WRC97 debuted. Prodrive also reunited key people from the original programme, including exterior designer Peter Stevens and technical director David Lapworth. The engine in the tested car was hand-built by Tony Hawtin, who Vicki notes also built flat-four engines for Richard Burns and Colin McRae.

Only 25 P25s were produced. The car tested by Vicki and Gordon is numbered 000, effectively taking the place of number 13, which Prodrive omitted from the series.

What makes the Prodrive P25 special:

• 450hp and 600Nm from a Prodrive-reworked 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four
• Under 1,200kg through extensive use of carbon composite bodywork
• Six-speed X-Shift sequential gearbox capable of 80-millisecond shifts
• Road, Sport and Sport Plus modes, with proper anti-lag in Sport Plus
• WRC-derived launch control for standing starts
• AP Racing brakes and a WRC-style hydraulic fly-off handbrake
• Direct involvement from key members of Prodrive's original Impreza WRC team

What Is the History Behind the Prodrive P25?

The P25 draws directly on Subaru and Prodrive's World Rally Championship history. Prodrive ran Subaru's WRC programme for almost 20 years, winning three manufacturers' titles and three drivers' titles during an era associated with Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg.

The two-door Impreza WRC97 made its debut in 1997 and inspired the Subaru 22B-STi Version that followed in 1998. Subaru described the 22B as a road version of the Impreza World Rally Car '97, created following its third consecutive WRC manufacturers' title. The P25 returns to that same WRC97 starting point, but reimagines it using modern materials, powertrain technology and engineering.

That makes the 22B a natural comparison for the P25, with both cars brought together at Knockhill for a visual comparison. Vicki quotes the 22B at around £40,000 when new and 4.7 seconds from 0-62mph. Subaru's original specification rated the 22B at 280PS, equivalent to around 276bhp, although Vicki rounds this to 300hp in the video.

What Does the Prodrive P25 Look Like?

The P25 keeps the compact two-door proportions of the 1997 Impreza WRC car, with wide arches, a deep front bumper, bonnet scoop and vents, and a large WRC-style rear wing. The 19-inch Prodrive wheels give it a more contemporary stance without losing the unmistakable late-1990s Impreza shape.

Underneath that familiar silhouette, much of the bodywork is actually carbon composite. The bonnet, boot, roof, sills, door mirrors, front and rear quarters, bumpers and rear wing all use the lightweight material, helping keep the P25 below 1,200kg. Up close, it looks recognisably period-inspired but much more specialised than the original shape first suggests.

How Does the Prodrive P25 Drive?

Performance and Power Delivery

The Prodrive-reworked 2.5-litre turbocharged flat-four produces 450hp and 600Nm. Road mode gives 350hp, Sport releases the full 450hp and Sport Plus adds the anti-lag system, keeping the turbo spinning so the response remains immediate.

The six-speed X-Shift sequential gearbox can change gear in 80 milliseconds and uses a single fixed paddle on the right of the steering column. Pulling the paddle changes up, while pushing it changes down. Gordon says the gearbox feels clunky and mechanical at low speed, but comes alive as the pace increases. That physical character is a major part of the P25's rally-car feel rather than something engineered out for refinement.

Top speed is limited to around 150mph, but outright maximum speed is not really the point. Vicki and Gordon focus instead on the acceleration, short ratios and the speed at which the P25 fires through its gears.

Handling and Chassis

The P25 is all-wheel drive, with MacPherson struts and Bilstein dampers. On track, Gordon describes a huge amount of grip and comments on the lack of pitch and roll under hard driving.

What surprises him more is the compliance. Despite the P25's motorsport character, the suspension is not excessively harsh and has enough subtlety to work on the road as well as the circuit. There are no separate comfort or sport suspension settings, so one fixed setup has to cope with town speeds, fast A-roads and track driving. Gordon's verdict is that it manages that balance remarkably well.

The AP Racing braking system uses 380mm vented discs at the front and 350mm discs at the rear. Gordon praises the brake feel but also stresses how hard the pedal needs to be pushed, particularly until the driver gets used to it.

Drive Modes and Launch Control

The three powertrain modes give the P25 a noticeable change in character. Road starts at 350hp, Sport adds another 100hp and Sport Plus activates the anti-lag system, bringing the soundtrack and response much closer to the rally experience that inspired the car.

The WRC-derived launch control is equally dramatic. Gordon sets the car in Sport Plus, primes the anti-lag and uses the launch sequence at Knockhill, with Vicki describing the result as feeling like the start of a rally. It is one of the clearest examples of the P25 using genuine competition-inspired technology rather than simply borrowing rally styling.

What Is the Prodrive P25 Interior Like?

Inside, the P25 mixes late-1990s Impreza simplicity with modern materials and functionality. Alcantara, carbon fibre and metal dominate the cabin, with Vicki praising the quality and noting the lack of harsh, scratchy plastics. The interior work was carried out by British-based CALLUM Designs.

A configurable digital display includes data logging, while the car also has smartphone connectivity and wireless phone charging. Buyers could choose rear seats for two passengers or a safety cage.

The rally influence is strongest in the controls. A single fixed paddle operates all six gears, while a WRC-style hydraulic fly-off handbrake disengages the centre differential so the rear of the car can be rotated. A conventional electric parking brake is also fitted for normal use.

What Wheels and Tyres Does the Prodrive P25 Have?

The P25 runs on 19-inch Prodrive-designed wheels measuring 8.5 x 19 inches, fitted with 235/35 R19 Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres at both ends.

The Prodrive P25 is fitted with Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres in 235/35 R19, paired with Prodrive’s own 19-inch wheels. The Potenza Sport is Bridgestone’s high-performance summer tyre, designed to deliver strong dry and wet grip alongside precise handling response.

The Bridgestone Potenza Sport is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on DriverReviews, based on hundreds of driver reviews.

Where Was the Prodrive P25 Tested?

Vicki and Gordon tested the P25 at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Scotland before taking it onto public roads. Knockhill is a demanding 1.27-mile, approximately 2km circuit with around 60 metres of elevation change between its highest and lowest points.

The combination of tight corners, fast sections, drops and climbs gives the P25's acceleration, braking and chassis a proper workout. Gordon's extensive experience of the circuit also makes his comments on the car's grip, braking and suspension particularly useful. Having the original 22B alongside the P25 provided a visual comparison between Subaru's 1990s road-going icon and Prodrive's modern interpretation.

Does the Prodrive P25 Have Any Rivals?

Not in the conventional sense. The P25 combines an original 1990s Impreza chassis, Prodrive's WRC history, a 25-car production run and highly specialised modern engineering, so comparing it with ordinary contemporary performance cars on price or outright pace misses much of the point.

Vicki instead points viewers who enjoy modern reinventions of classic performance cars towards the Tuthill 911K, which she and Gordon have also reviewed. It is not a direct rival, but it follows a similarly focused philosophy of preserving the character of an older icon while applying modern specialist engineering.

Is the Prodrive P25 Worth the Money?

At £552,000 when new, the P25 was never a conventional value proposition. Its appeal is the experience: a light, mechanical and highly specialised road car created by the company that ran Subaru's WRC programme, with genuine rally-derived hardware and direct involvement from people who worked on the original WRC97.

Vicki and Gordon are overwhelmingly positive about the result. The speed and anti-lag deliver the drama expected of a rally-inspired machine, but the biggest surprise is that the suspension retains enough compliance to make the P25 genuinely usable on the road.

The case for the Prodrive P25:

• 450hp and 600Nm in a car weighing under 1,200kg
• Raw, mechanical sequential gearbox and genuine anti-lag give it real rally-car character
• Original Impreza WRX chassis combined with extensive modern Prodrive engineering
• Key members of the original WRC97 team were involved in its development
• Surprisingly compliant suspension works on the road as well as the track

Before you buy:

• £552,000 when new puts it firmly into collector-car territory
• The sequential gearbox feels clunky and mechanical at low speeds
• The AP Racing brake pedal requires substantial effort
• Vicki and Gordon note that the car has no ABS, stability control or airbags, reinforcing how old-school the underlying package is