Subaru Impreza Turbo UK2000 AWD - Cool Cars

If you're like me, you agree that there's only one correct way to colour a Subaru - in blue, and with gold rims.

The colour scheme was made famous by the legendary Colin McRae during his 1993 - 1998 run with the Japanese marque, with whom he took his only WRC crown (1995). While McRae is one of the few drivers whose memory isn't attached to a single car - his 555 Subaru Impreza being just as recognisable as his Ford Focus - it's the Subaru we're looking at today.

Spotted at The Motorist, UK, this is one of the final UK2000 Subaru Imprezas. To give it its full name, it's an Impreza Turbo 2000 AWD (the UK-equivalent to the WRX), and it makes 208bhp and 214lb ft from its 2.0L turbocharged engine and five-speed gearbox. With just under 100,000 miles in its 25 years it's clearly been used but looked after - the perfect combination if you ask me.

There's just something effortlessly classy about this car. The deep blue contrasting against the gold is certainly of the hallmarks of the Subaru, so much so that anything else almost seems incorrect, but the overall shape is more refined.

Sure it's got the spoiler and the bonnet scoop, but it's incorporated more elegantly into the silhouette - it's not the gigantic wing and boxier design of later models. The red brake caliper adds another subtle pop of colour, but it's not enough to distract.

Perhaps it's nostalgia that does it for me. The car and the man were competing when I was growing up, and I'm sure that the same goes for many other people of many other ages - the "back in my day" mindset winning out through the generations.

But I don't think that's it. I think it's Colin McRae again.

The man's legacy is such that any Subaru, not just this one, is intrinsically linked to him. You're hard pressed to find one that doesn't have an aftermarket reference to him somewhere - a sticker of his "if in doubt, flat out" mantra, or the famous 555. It doesn't matter who drove one before and who's driven one after - Subaru is McRae, and McRae is Subaru.

So while his legacy lives on, I'll continue to appreciate this car - and I'm sure many of you will too.

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