Subaru Impreza STi WRC 2006

Alright, let’s embark on this wobbly yet thrilling ride through the legend that is the 2006 Subaru Impreza STi WRC, told in the style of the one and only Clarkson.

Picture Professional Drivetrain Engineers huddled in Prodrive’s Wiltshire workshops, poring over their notes—Colin McRae’s ghost hovering behind them like a particularly insistent spectre. By 2006, Prodrive had not only seen but sculpted the entire World Rally Championship era for Subaru. This specific Impreza was their bouffant grand design: a bomber jacket of aerodynamics stitched onto a rally legend to make sure the blue and gold iconography didn’t just shine, it screamed. conceptcarz.com+6conceptcarz.com+6reddit.com+6

Stage Two: Famous Names & Finer Details

Enter Petter Solberg, the Norseman with more gravel in his teeth than most street drivers ever swallow. He wasn’t merely a driver; he was a Viking poet flinging mud at the gods. His 2006 machine, weaponized with monobloc AP Racing calipers and lightweight BBS rims chasing 225/40R18 grit-swallowing tires, was his chariot for glory. A Speedhunters chassis wizard noted: “mother of all AP Racing monobloc calipers at all four corners”. speedhunters.com

Behind the scenes, Prodrive’s dampers were being finessed with enough subtlety to handle Macanese speed humps—not because Macau mattered in WRC, but because these things had to dance across continents and stages with balletic poise.

A Heritage Steeped in Rallying

Subaru’s WRC tale isn’t just another dusty chapter—it’s a full-throated roar across time. The brand had already claimed drivers’ crowns with legends like McRae, Richard Burns, and Solberg himself. By 2006, the Impreza had racked up 46 rally victories and six manufacturer titles—not shabby for what began as modest family runabouts.

The Man Behind the Seatbelt

Specifically crafted to celebrate Solberg’s antics (and occasional bush crashes), this car was tuned to his wild inspirations. The engineer who’d had the joy—insanity—of balancing turbo boost, weight distribution, and braking systems was no robot. There were sleepless nights imagining Solberg sending the beast airborne mid-corner, only to land with a squeal and a grin.

Tarmac, Gravel, Speed—and Character

Let’s not gloss over the skin: a monster of aero panels, wings, and scoops. This Impreza could go from zero to 100 in a blink, all while delivering a symphony of that boxer rumble. In 2006 trim, it was the culmination of fifteen years of tweaking, learning, and cult-building.

The People Who Made It: Tales from the Toolkit

• Colin McRae, the Don Corleone of sideways driving, whose legend haunted every Prodrive meeting and design sketch. Though he’d gone by 2006, his spirit—and that approach-you-can’t-plan-for style—still resonated.
• Richard Burns, remembered in that poignant RB320 limited edition and “Richard Burns Trophy” in Britain—like a rallying saint, gone too soon.
• Petter Solberg, who went on to tear up the Lemons Tarmac events but cut his championship teeth in this exact car.

The Legacy: Why It Matters

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This is a machine just as much as it’s a tattoo of automotive history—and not just for the rally geeks. The Impreza STi WRC of 2006 is the epitome of “family car turned weapons system.” It’s the rally hero we rooted for in Subarus blue jerseys painted across muddy forests.

Even now, when people look at those aero lines and golden wheels, they’re looking at rallying’s heart—designed by engineers, built by craftsmen, driven by gladiators. It’s not just a car; it’s the physical embodiment of a band of misfits who said, “Let’s show the world.”

To Summarize Clarkson-Style:

What you have here is the ultimate example of Subaru’s obsession-cum-genius by people like McRae, Burns, Solberg—and, yes, the unsung heroes in those Wiltshire garages. It’s a brooding, purposeful, unapologetic homage to rallying’s golden age. If it had a catchphrase, it’d be: “Shut up and shift.”

It’s wild, it’s visceral, it’s British flair meeting Japanese engineering, laminated in detritus from thousands of rally kilometers. And if you ever get the chance to catch one of these beasts in action—even just firing up at a museum—watch how the crowd leans forward. That’s respect.

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🏁 Car No.5 – The Final Charge of the Viking 🏁

That bold orange 5, flanked by Solberg and the Norwegian flag, wasn’t just some decorative sticker slapped on a race car. It was the battle crest of a man who drove like Thor on gravel and swore in gear ratios.

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In the 2006 World Rally Championship season, Petter Solberg’s blue and gold Subaru—chassis designation S12 WRC—bore the number 5 and the weight of expectations from every rally nut in the world. This car wasn’t just a tuned Impreza. No. It was a fire-breathing, gravel-spitting, corner-hopping masterpiece whipped up by the lunatics at Prodrive. Underneath the skin lay a 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-four Boxer engine pushing 300 horses, lashed to a drivetrain that made mountain goats look clumsy.

Now, Solberg wasn’t just driving. He was performing—stage after stage, tarmac to snowbank. At the Rally Catalunya that year, the 5 car nearly unseated the reigning Citroën Empire. Solberg hurled the car sideways into turns with such intensity, it looked like he was trying to scare the laws of physics into submission. Alas, gremlins in the machine robbed him of podium glory. But the world remembered the spectacle.

This wasn’t a car that collected trophies. This was a rolling Norse saga, a mechanical berserker designed not to win quietly—but to lose heroically in a blaze of RPM and rally dust.

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This wasn’t just an Impreza. It was a blunt Norwegian axe wrapped in carbon fibre, wearing golden shoes, and screaming at mountains to get out of its way. If it had a voice, it’d yell, ‘RAAAAAAARGH!!’ every time Solberg touched the throttle.