2000 Subaru IMPREZA WRX STi Version 5

The car you see here was imported from Japan in 2010 by the car’s first UK- registered owner. In the Far East to do anything but buy a car, he fell in love with this example and couldn’t resist buying it and shipping it home. Impressed with the car’s low mileage and overall condition, he stored it without really using it until he sold it to the vendor in 2017.

Who then set about having it fully recommissioned by ScoobyWorld before using it gently over the following two years; his huge collection of fast modern classics means that he gets to pick and choose what he drives and when - and he keeps all his cars MOT’d, serviced, and on-the-button so he can indulge his whims without stress or worry.

With just over 50,000 miles on the odometer, this is a rare opportunity to get your hands on a largely original Subaru Impreza Turbo WRX STi at what we think is a bargain-basement price. Nicely fettled and protected from the ravages of the UK’s winter salt for the majority of its life, now is the time to buy the Impreza you’ve been promising yourself.

The white coachwork is in very good condition, displaying the sort of tight, even shut lines that lead us to believe that the car hasn’t suffered the sort of catastrophic accident damage that is all too common with the model. We aren’t convinced that the paint is 100% original but the work that has been done does look to have been done rather well and was almost certainly only undertaken to freshen the car up rather than under-the-arches bodgery to disguise an, er, ‘interesting’ backstory.

There is a small rubbing mark on the offside rear bumper, and fans of Love Island will probably have fallen in love with the Impreza’s boot decal. Neither are to our taste and would top the list of bodywork we’d schedule to sort out. That’s the bad news. The good news is that that is probably the extent of the bodywork required.

The ultra-rare aftermarket Revolution alloy wheels are in good condition having only been fitted to the car in the past year and used for only a couple of hundred miles. However, despite their rarity, value and condition, we can’t help but think that if it were ours we’d replace them with the OE five-spoke alloy wheels that come with the car. Both are gold, a colour that suits the car in our opinion, but the value and interest in cars like this is in their originality rather than the quality and extent of their modifications.

In either case, the car sits on four matching Toyo high-performance tyres, all of which have good tread and are almost new having covered only 200 miles or so.

The Subaru’s red and black, heavily sculpted front seats are in great condition, showing only minor signs of wear and nothing so vulgar as rips, tears or other significant damage. The rear seats are more conventional in design but are equally clean bar one small hole, which a professional should be able to repair at minimal cost and inconvenience.

The headlining is clean, taut and free of damage. The same can be said of the carpets, door cards and the rest of the interior trim; mid-nineties Japanese interior plastic might not be the most tactile you’re ever likely to come across but it is as tough as old boots and more durable than a cockroach in a nuclear war.

Two auxiliary gauges sit atop the dashboard, and another has been fitted to the driver’s A-pillar. It would be a straightforward job to remove them, and while a new cubby box lid and trim panel might be needed (although possibly not as they look to have been stuck down rather than screwed) these are plentiful and easy to source from the usual places. Changing the carbon fibre gear knob would be even easier; while it fits the hand nicely, we can’t help but think that a standard item would be more in keeping with the rest of the car’s originality.

A turbo timer has been fitted too, a sensible modification on any turbocharged car that is regularly driven.

The boot is neat and home to the spacesaver spare wheel and toolkit. Interestingly, it still features the original fibreboard wheel cover, which is often damaged or lost. The carpet could do with a wash, but we think the stains would probably come out with a little elbow grease: Don’t think of it as work so much as adding value…

Having been the subject of a full recommission only recently, something that included a new fuel filter, brake fluid, coolant, gearbox oil and a cambelt in addition to the usual spark plugs, engine oil and filter, and air filter, the Subaru is fighting fit and raring to go. It starts promptly, ticks over beautifully and revs like a good ‘un as you can see from the video.

Or, better still, why not come and see it in person? The car is here with us at The Market HQ in Abingdon, and we’d be delighted to show it to you. If you do pop along you’ll be able to listen to it, too - and it sounds fabulous, thanks to a ProDrive silencer and an Afterburner de-cat centre section.

It handles like a good ‘un too, having been fitted with a BC BR-series coilover kit and adjustable top mounts after the originals were found to be leaking. The whole kit and caboodle was then professionally set up via a four-wheel alignment session at marque specialists ScoobyWorld.

The engine is the fabled ‘red top’ unit, the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) variant that is reputed to be stronger than those destined for export. This might just be an urban myth of course, but if it’s any help the owner, a serial modern classic collector with more than 20 vehicles in his collection and so no stranger to powerful nineties cars, says it feels much stronger than the claimed factory output of 280bhp…

The engine bay is clean and tidy and free of extraneous wiring and inappropriate decoration. We might be tempted to replace the underbonnet soundproofing, which is starting to degrade and peel away, but it otherwise needs nothing.

The same can be said of the underside of the car, which is clean, tidy and only needs some localised touching-up of the underseal, which is peeling in a few small areas.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates and the current MOT certificate runs out in May 2020 – and being a well-maintained Impreza, there were no advisory points to worry about, either…

It has a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the recent work that has been done to it but is otherwise paperless, as most JDM-import cars tend to be.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained in recent years to the very highest standard.

The Impreza Turbo’s reputation has taken a beating in recent years, which means that it is easy to lose sight of how iconic, groundbreaking, and sizzlingly quick they are; even now, few cars can keep up with a well-driven Scooby thanks to that turbocharged punch and faithful, hugely grippy chassis.

And, if you’re a free-thinker and not easily swayed by popular culture, then the Impreza’s reputation might actually work in your favour because prices are low, and that’s a state of affairs that can’t continue forever. A pitiful £6,250 to £9,000 is our estimate, which is an absurdly small sum to pay for such a fabulously multi-faceted sportscar.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.