In the year 2000, Subaru was riding high. In the previous decade, the GC8 Impreza had become synonymous with rally success, netting them three back-to-back WRC constructor titles in 1995-1997 and forever linking them with the legendary combination of Colin McRae and Prodrive. The latter had, in March 2000, just released the limited edition P1 and the first generation Impreza WRX-STI had reached its pinnacle with the S201. The company knew the car needed a facelift, but it’s the curse of the difficult second album: how do you follow on from a legend?
The answer was to go back to Hidefumi Kato, head of the original design team, and try to do the same again but that was hoping for a lot. New safety features, chassis stiffness, increased size and refinement all added weight, but the feature on this new model that drew the most comment was the new front end: whereas the GC8 had been nicknamed the ‘mean eye’ this second-generation car, with its huge, round headlamps, soon picked up the unfortunate ‘bug eye’ moniker. Peter Stevens, legendary designer of the McLaren F1, was quickly called in to help rectify the situation and in 2002, the first facelift (soon known as the ‘blob eye’) was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. A further facelift that included yet another headlamp redesign (the ‘hawkeye’) and unusual intake grille followed in 2005, before the third generation was launched in 2007.
Today, the very top prices of second-generation models, as with the first-generation cars, tends to be reserved for notable competition variants, with the second-generation sale record belonging to an ex-Richard Burns/ Robert Reid 2001 Impreza WRX that was sold by Iconic Auctions in 2022 for £392,500. Road-going cars tend to be much more affordable and in common with Imprezas of all eras, it’s the performance-led models of the second gen cars, WRX and especially STI, that are desired by enthusiasts.
UK Hagerty Price Guide values range from £7800 for a ‘bug eye’ WRX STI in ‘fair’ condition and rise to £34,500 for a low mileage, ‘blob eye’ in ‘concours’ condition. The Prodrive Performance Pack (PPP) and special editions such as the WR1 can push prices up by 10-15 percent. Home market cars, marked as ‘Type UK’ typically demand a premium over grey Japanese imports that often have low mileage but different spec and little or no service history, although editions such as the STI S203 ‘blobeye’ and S204 ‘hawkeye’ are starting to become very collectable with asking prices in the high £30,000s. Even that seems relatively inexpensive compared to earlier iterations of the car like the P1, which has a current top UK Hagerty Price Guide value of £71,500.
Assuming you can find a low-mileage second generation Impreza, ideally one of the limited-edition models, in great condition and with full UK service history, the valuation forecast is good although the chances of the model reaching the heights of the P1 are not high. A good comparison would be the 993 Porsche 911 and the 996 generation of the same model: although the latter have really reestablished themselves with enthusiasts over the last few years, they’re still not the one that most people lust after and the money follows. However, recent price rises at the top end of the Subaru market have been, in large part, driven by works rally car sales and the surge in 22B-STI prices in America that started back in 2021, two years before it reached its 25th birthday, allowing it to be more widely used there. Early second-generation Imprezas are now also in that zone, so prices of the most desirable variants may be pushed higher as they are exported to the US. For the vast majority of second-generation Imprezas though, prices are likely to remain stable, offering wide choice for potential buyers.
The second generation Impreza was never intended as a garage queen, or something destined to grow in value. It was meant to be a driver’s car, a powerful statement with a huge motorsport history that delivers excitement every time it is driven. For that, the model offers a huge amount of value for money.
What are your thoughts on the second generation Subaru Impreza? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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