History Car 1990s

Subaru Impreza 555

Overview Specs Highlights Characteristics

Overview

Introduced during the 1993 WRC season as the smaller successor to the Legacy RS, the first Prodrive-prepared Impreza was a Group A four-door saloon, not the two-door World Rally Car unveiled in 1997. The '555' name came from the team's cigarette-brand sponsorship and became closely associated with the blue-and-gold Subaru works cars.

The switch to the Impreza created a more compact competition platform while retaining Subaru's defining turbocharged flat-four and four-wheel-drive layout. The works car's engine specification and running gear were substantially developed beyond the road-going Impreza WRX.

Technical Specs & Innovations

  • Competition category: FIA Group A (factory Impreza 555 era, 1993–1996).
  • Engine family: Subaru EJ-series 2.0-litre turbocharged boxer-four; commonly identified within the EJ20G-derived Group A program, not an FA engine.
  • Displacement: 1,994 cc; 92 mm bore × 75 mm stroke.
  • Valvetrain: DOHC, 16 valves (four valves per cylinder).
  • Induction: Turbocharged with charge-air cooling and competition engine management; FIA intake restrictors changed with regulation years.
  • Period works output: Approximately 300 bhp, with published figures varying by year and tune. Do not substitute road WRX/STI ratings.
  • Drivetrain: Permanent four-wheel drive, with competition differential specifications evolving during development.
  • Transmission: Competition manual/H-pattern configurations; experimental and later shift systems mean a single gearbox specification cannot describe every Group A build.
  • Chassis: Four-door production-derived steel monocoque reinforced for Group A rallying.
  • Suspension: Independent strut suspension tuned for gravel, asphalt and snow.
  • Competition brakes: Multi-piston calipers and ventilated discs; rotor and wheel sizes differed by surface.
  • Homologation: FIA Group A homologation reference A-5480.

Works car versus road car: This profile describes Prodrive's Group A competition Impreza. The engine family is EJ, but exact engine suffix, boost, gearbox, power and differential hardware must be tied to an individual year or chassis—not treated as interchangeable with a showroom WRX or STI.

🏆 Competitive Highlights

  • 1993: The Impreza debuted as Subaru phased out the Legacy; the initial seasons focused on turning a promising new platform into a consistent winner.
  • 1994 Acropolis Rally: Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya achieved the Impreza's first WRC event victory, followed by further wins that season.
  • 1995: Colin McRae and Derek Ringer won the drivers' championship, with Subaru also taking its first manufacturers' title. McRae secured the crown at the season-ending RAC Rally.
  • 1996: Subaru retained the manufacturers' championship with the Group A Impreza, although Tommi Mäkinen won the drivers' crown for Mitsubishi.
  • 1997: Subaru moved to the new two-door Impreza WRC97 under the World Rally Car rules; that is a separate competition generation.

Driving Characteristics

Compared with the Legacy, the shorter Impreza shell offered a more agile basis for direction changes, while four-wheel drive and the turbocharged boxer supplied traction and acceleration on mixed-grip surfaces. Its effective setup still depended on surface-specific gearing, suspension travel, tyres and differential tuning.

The famous turbo boxer exhaust note and wide range of period competition configurations should not be mistaken for one unchanging factory specification across four seasons.

Legacy & context

The Impreza 555 established Subaru as a championship-winning constructor before the World Rally Car era. McRae's 1995 title and the back-to-back 1995–96 manufacturers' crowns made the blue-and-gold Group A saloon central to 1990s rally history.

Sources & verification

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