Mention the name ‘Impreza WRX’ to any British police officer of a certain age and watch them flashback to late-night smash-and-grab robberies and high-speed pursuits. Subaru’s rally-bred sedan was the getaway car of choice for a generation of criminals tormenting UK law enforcement.
The Impreza’s durability, honed over gruelling World Rally Championship special stages, made it equally adept at surviving the chaos of being driven through shop windows – and then evading capture.
Eventually, British police embraced the adage ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ and welcomed the turbo all-wheel-drive Impreza into their fleet of pursuit and interceptor vehicles. From the late 1990s through to the late 2010s, the WRX was used by both sides of the law.
In the 1990s, British police fleets were mostly made up of Vauxhall Vectras and Ford Mondeos, making the Impreza a standout on both city streets and rural B-roads. It was also more agile than another famous British police car of the late ’80s/early ’90s era – the Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth.
Australian police, too, found the Impreza’s agility preferable to their usual GM Holden Commodores, which were larger rear-wheel-drive sedans with more grunt than a Vauxhall Vectra. In Japan, WRXs served domestic needs, but mostly patrolling for speeders rather than chasing ram-raiders.
For the West Midlands Police Motorclub, mentioning the Impreza likely elicits delight rather than disdain. That’s because they ran this Prodrive-built 2004 GDB WRX STI in club rallies across the UK in the 2018 season, with its retired police officer owner Paul Clackett behind the wheel.
You see, cars like the Subaru Impreza WRX and its rally foe the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution left such an impression on British police that it wasn’t long before some constabularies formed their own rally teams. It became a unique way for officers to engage with the community and raise awareness about the dangers of speeding – by, well, speeding – but in controlled, closed-road environments.
We don’t know how successful the car was in the hands of former Constable Clackett, nor in the years before he owned it – the Impreza’s pre-2018 history is murky – but I am sure it brought joy to many as it sloshed around gravel roads across Great Britain.
Originally built for Group N, somewhere along the line, the Impreza was upgraded with the full WRC wide-body and wing treatment. It was reputedly fitted with the WRC-spec driveline too, but, regardless, that’s no longer in the car.
Current owner Tatsumi-san – who bears a striking resemblance to a detective from a Tokyo crime series – imported the car as a nice addition to his Subaru collection.
Cruising the streets of Tokyo is a far cry from a gravel rally stage in the Midlands, but at least it’s now in semi-tarmac spec.
It took four years of tinkering to bring the car up to Japanese road safety and emission standards, making that number plate well-earned. Aside from the drivetrain, the Impreza retains much of its original period Prodrive configuration.
Seeing a factory team-built rally car on public roads is one of the best aspects of car culture – especially when its dressed in competition white with no livery like this one. A big thanks to Tatsumi-san for bringing this Subaru from the special stage to the street.
Toby Thyer
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