Subaru WRX STI tS Type RA NBR Challenge | Spotted

For the last 15 years or so, Subaru has been desperately trying to prove it still knows how to put a quick WRX together despite its works rally efforts being wrapped up at the end of 2008. This is the company that won three WRC drivers’ and contractors’ titles apiece, and along with Prodrive created some of the most iconic rally machines there’s ever been. The WRC without Subaru seemed just as preposterous as a Ferrari-less Formula 1.

As we know, that’s the situation the Japanese marque found itself in following the financial crisis at the end of the noughties. Now out of the WRC, Subaru needed to find a different way to show off its sportier credentials. Having conquered the world of rallying, the company turned its attention to mastering the Nurburinging. It didn’t take long for production car lap records to arrive, with wins at the track’s gruelling 24-hour event coming soon after. In just a few years, Subaru had conquered the Green Hell and, because it never misses the opportunity to release a special edition, launched a run of Nurburgring-honed Impreza WRX STIs to celebrate its successes, one of which we have for sale here on PH.

We all know the rule when it comes to super Subarus: the longer the name, the more special the car. And boy, does this have a long one. What we have here is the Impreza WRX STI tS Type RA NBR Challenge. A right mouthful, that, but it’s Subaru’s way of showing just how hardcore of a track weapon this Impreza is. Obviously, you’ll know what the first name and two following acronyms mean, with tS (never used in Europe) standing for ‘tuned by STI’, as if the preceding three letters didn’t give that away. Anyway, Type RA is the name given to the company’s lightest, most track-focused editions, while the NBR Challenge bit at the end signified an upgrade package stuffed with hardware developed for the Nurburgring. 

The upgrades alone could fill the rest of this article, but the biggest changes over the regular Impreza WRX STI were specially-tuned Bilstein dampers with STI springs, six-pot Brembo front brakes and a faster steering rack. The JDM-spec 2.0-litre boxer with a twin-scroll turbo was lifted from the Nurburgring-honed R205 hatch, channelling 320hp across both axles through a close-ratio six-speed gearbox and limited-slip differential. Bridgestone also supplied a bespoke set of sticky Potenza tyres, which are presumably mega bucks to replace and tricky to find, so this example’s shod with a set of Advans instead.

While the chassis and engine were left alone, the pack introduced that massive adjustable carbon fibre rear wing, those achingly cool 18-inch forged aluminium BBS rims and a set of Recaro sports seats up front, though the previous owner of this car has replaced them with a newer pair of buckets. The rest of the car, save for a Blitz exhaust system, is completely stock which, for a Subaru, makes this a bit of a unicorn.

That, and the fact that it’s even rarer than the numbers suggest. Of the 300 examples produced, 200 were built to RA specification while only 100 were fitted with the NBR upgrade package, and of those just 69 were painted in Tangerine Orange Pearl, this car being one of them. Not the sort of colour you’d expect on a Subaru, but it sort of makes this track-honed Impreza look like a four-door version of the BMW M3 GTS. And a cheaper one at that, with the asking price for this 41,000-mile car sitting at £34,995. Strong money for a Scoob, sure, but it doesn’t sting quite as much when you consider that most Impreza specials command a similar fee. Besides, none have as long a name as this one does, and we all know how important that is…

Engine: 1,994cc four-cylinder boxer, turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 320@6,400rpm
Torque (lb ft): 317@3,200rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 2013
Recorded mileage: 41,000
Price new: £30,000 (Japan)
Yours for: £34,995