(By Tom Lohnes) – The first generation of the Subaru WRX/STI (GC8) is a very iconic car for its rally heritage and all-around good performance. With a turbocharged boxer four cylinder engine sending power to all four wheels through a manual transmission and centrally mounted transfer case, traction is no problem. Adding in things like a short wheelbase and you can see why people think that the GC8 is a great car.
But one model sticks out in the lineup and may run you a pretty penny. Or an armored truck full of them.
The fabled 1998 22B STI has everything you need in a rally car. With its aggressive widebody stance, better tires, a beefier transmission, turbo, and intercooler, and a cool badge, the 22B is the Subaru everyone wants, but no one can have. Adding on to that last statement, the latest sale of a 22B on Bring A Trailer brough $370,000! You thought the $50,000 Civic was insane? That’s nothing compared to these numbers.
This 22B wasn’t your normal one though. Even though the car is only 22 years old, a nut-and-bolt restoration was performed to make sure this RHD beauty will stay fresh. Factory horsepower was rated at 280, but just like every JDM performance car, it has much more than 280 horsepower. The 5-speed manual was rebuilt, as well as the 2.2-liter boxer engine. All 3 differentials were rebuilt as well.
If I had almost 400k to blow on a car, it would honestly probably be this thing. There are only like 425 of them in existence, and they’re just plain cool.
Make it a sedor or wagon and I’m there.
I also appreciate the lego mentality of Subaru – quite a few common components and lots of interchangeability across many generations of cars