Subaru’s WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition Still Remembers Colin McRae

The Subaru WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition has made its bow at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it hasn’t escaped our notice how many units will make up the limited run.

There will be 555 examples, a number that can only have been chosen in a subtle but touching tip of the cap to the legendary blue-and-gold classic Impreza, bedecked in the iconic 555 livery, that won the World Rally Championship back in 1995.

McRae, who died in a senseless helicopter crash in 2007 along with his five-year-old son, a friend and a friend of his son’s, still holds the record for being the youngest person to win the WRC title.

Back to the car, then, and the EJ20 Final Edition takes Type S spec and adds a bunch of things that add a desirable premium even if you ignore the fact it’s the run-out special. It wears gold-painted BBS 19-inch alloys, red detailing on the rear bumper and front grille and you might just be able to see the silver seatbelts, but otherwise the EJ20 Final Edition is pretty incognito versus other recent WRX STIs.

There are grippy suede Recaro seats, a matching suede steering wheel and the full complement of technology Subaru currently has for the WRX platform.

The engine is no end-of-the-line blowout, but it’s powerful enough. It packs 304bhp and 311lb ft of torque, all delivered with the classic WRX/Impreza STI brutality. Each of the 555 units will have a manual six-speed gearbox, just like the one attached to the final edition of the UK’s 2.5-litre car we drove almost two years ago.

Prices for the model are kind of irrelevant. The production run will be allocated by lottery in Japan to anyone who puts their name in for one and, presumably, pays a deposit. Buyers will have to have the financial muscle to buy one if they’re offered it. That price is ¥4,110,000, equivalent to about £29,349 at the time of writing. Is it us or does that feel like a bit of a bargain?