Auction sites like bringatrailer.com are the perfect places to look at if you are looking for unusual or rare vehicles. That is exactly the case with this 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI, which has 40,000 km (24,855 miles) on the clock. Japanese sports cars from the 1990s are becoming increasingly sought-after, especially those that were never sold in the US and have to be 25 years old. The Skyline R34 GTR and Supra A80 Turbo are already six-figure cars. The 22B STI is right up there with them, and for good reason.

This particular car has been imported to the US under the “show and display” exemption. A total of 400 22B STIs were made in order to celebrate Subaru’s 40th anniversary and this one is Number 156. The car is finished in the brand’s signature “World Rally Blue” color and a black and blue interior. All Subaru Impreza 22B STI are two-door coupes and are over three inches (7.62 cm) wider thanks to a bespoke wide-body kit.

Power goes to all four wheels through a six-speed manual. The car is very light, tipping the scales at just 2,745 pounds (1,245 kg) dry weight. This allows for a sprint to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.7 seconds, a 13.1-second quarter-mile time, and a top speed of 157 mph (252 km/h), despite the big WRC-style wing at the back. As with other Japanese sports cars, made under the “Gentlemen’s agreement”, the 276 horsepower figure is believed to be underrated. Some tests indicate that the claimed horsepower figure is at the wheels.

1998 Subaru Imprezza 22B STi specifications

Regardless, the car is in pristine condition and has been meticulously looked after. In fact, the timing belt and water pump were changed in January 2021 by Arcflash of Bend, Oregon. Around the same time, a new OEM-spec cat-back exhaust was installed and the intake manifold was powder coated. All interventions have been documented and can be seen in the gallery, along with results from the dyno-testing.

The bid for this 1 of 400 Subaru Impreza 22B STI finishes in 10 days and the bid has already passed the $150,000 mark.