1998 Subaru Impreza Sti 22B

The 22B was released in 1998 to commemorate Subaru's 40th anniversary as well as the 3rd consecutive manufacturer's title for Subaru in the FIA World Rally Championship. The 22B Sti had 2 doors and a widerbody, with the starting VIN code of GC8E2SD. The origin of the name 22B has often been debated. Many assume 22 referred to the 2.2 liter displacement and the B was for the Bilstein suspension. This would correlate with the idea that Subaru sells a Legacy Spec B, where the B represents the Bilstein suspension. Others believe that 22B was meant to represent the much recognized 555 decal (555 is a tobacco company that was a major sponsor for Subaru in the WRC) on the WRC car as 22B is a hexadecimal representation of the decimal number, 555.



The 22B had the EJ22 engine as opposed to the regular EJ20 engine. The block is a closed-deck design with internals of the block coming from a V3 EJ20G, were the intake manifold and heads were from the V4 EJ20K. The result displacement was increased from 1994 cc to 2212 cc. The heads (valves, valvetrain and such) were lifted from the STi Version 4 engine. It produce 280 PS (210 kW; 280 hp) at 6000 rpm and 363 N·m (267 ft·lbf, 37.0 kgf·m) of torque at a lower engine speed of 3200 rpm. The redline was lowered from 8000 rpm to 7000 rpm. The compression is an 8.0:1. The turbocharger is an IHI RHF 5HB (the internal company usage code is VF23).



This car was given a unique color of blue and had fender flared widebody taken from the Peter Stevens designed WRC car, thus widening the width by 80mm for a total of 1770mm. During assembly, a WRX Type R chassis was taken off the line. The fenders were replaced with the 22B STi fenders. The car's curb weight is 1270kg. The suspension is provided by Bilstein. The brakes were standard 4-piston front and 2-piston rear calipers in red and white Subaru lettering. The wheels are 17x8.5" BBS Elektra which were increased in size from the standard 16x7" WRX Type R STi wheels . The clutch was upgraded to a sintered twin clutch with a ceramic disk. The transmission ratios are the same as the standard WRX Type R, but the gears were shot-peened for added reliability. The car has a unique hood, a WRC-inspired front bumper and a unique adjustable rear wing.



The 22B STi that is supposed to be #13 was never given the plaque and used by Subaru of America for the press. Three 22B STis were given the #000 plaque, 2 went to the World Rally car drivers for Subaru at the time Colin McRae and Nicky Grist, with the third being used by Subaru Japan as their press car. It was widely rumored David Lapworth of Prodrive owned the third #000 car, however he actually owned #400.