Subaru Impreza 22B STi: The Widebody WRC Unicorn

Four hundred units. Handcrafted widebody. Built to secure Subaru's rally legacy, the Impreza 22B STi is the stuff of legend—WRC technology for the street, once sold out in under 30 hours. Here’s why the 22B isn’t just another rare Impreza, but a high-water mark in homologation engineering.

🏁 Built for the Dirt, Sold for the Street

Peter Stevens — the designer behind the McLaren F1 and Subaru's WRC bodywork — drew the 22B to bring the road car closer to the rally car's stance. Total width grew by 80 mm over a standard GC8, achieved with hand-laid steel and composite arch extensions rather than bolt-on plastic flares. The result is 1,770 mm across, a genuinely different silhouette, and arch clearance for meaningfully wider track.

Underneath, the 22B runs Bilstein inverted-strut dampers with bespoke valving and stiffer springs front and rear. Front track increased to 1,470 mm and rear to 1,465 mm, with revised camber and caster settings that sharpen turn-in and reduce understeer under power. The rear subframe carries firmer bushings and a thicker anti-roll bar, tightening the platform's response to weight transfer.

Steering is quicker than the standard car at 15.2:1, paired with a driver-controlled center differential and a mechanical rear LSD. Brakes are four-pot front and two-pot rear, clamping 294 mm discs behind 17×8.5-inch BBS gold alloys wearing 235/40R17 Pirelli P Zeros — a serious tire for a 1998 road-going Impreza.

The whole exercise existed because motorsport demanded it. Manufacturers had to sell road cars resembling their competition machines.

🔗 GROUP A RULES: Want to know how homologation legends like the 22B were possible? Read our deep dive: Group A Homologation: AWD Legends.

The 22B sits precisely at that boundary. Curb weight came in at 1,270 kg. Subaru also fitted a lower final drive and a closer-ratio five-speed to keep the engine inside its narrow, aggressive powerband.

🔧 Why It's Not Just a Standard Impreza

Strip away the arches and the 22B still would not be a Type RA with attitude. The chassis received seam reinforcement in key areas, and the shell was assembled to tighter tolerances than mass-production cars of the period.

But the widebody and the Bilsteins are supporting cast. The actual reason collectors pay supercar money for a 1998 Impreza is the engine bay — a 2,212 cc closed-deck boxer that Subaru built for this car and never fitted to another production model.

🛠️ ENGINE TECH: The secrets of the 2,212 cc closed-deck boxer and Subaru’s turbo durability will be explored in our next piece—stay tuned!

Bore it, brace it, and tie the liner tops into the outer wall — that is how you make 8.0:1 compression and high boost survive a WRC season.

💬 Join the Conversation!

Is the 22B the ultimate 90s rally homologation car, or does the Lancer Evo VI Tommi Mäkinen Edition take the crown? Drop a comment below and start the debate.