A 26-year-old Subaru Impreza S201 STI equipped with a temperamental 300-horsepower engine is up for grabs on Cars & Bids right now. Believed to be one out of only 87 units ever made, it currently sits at $10,000 with two days left on the auction clock.
As many of you know, Japanese automakers have entered an unwritten “Gentlemen’s Agreement” since 1989 that involved not disclosing the actual performance of the car in its documentation. Until 2005 or so, all automakers in the country reported their cars to be capable of 280 PS (276 hp / 206 kW) at most to work around the unnecessarily punishing local regulations.
Subaru was one the first companies to break the agreement by introducing the Impreza S201 STI, officially rated at 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW) and 353 Nm (260 lb-ft) of torque at launch. It came with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot mated to a five-speed manual transmission and was considered quite a sporty ride for its era.
Straight from the assembly line, the sedan featured an advanced aero kit, various suspension upgrades, limited-slip differentials at both ends and forged wheels from Rays. The interior of the example on sale was finished in neutral grey with light blue bucket seats. The odometer shows nearly 160,000 kilometers (100,000 miles) of use.
Subaru’s original production plans involved 300 such cars, but multiple reports claim that only 87 S201 STI units saw the light of day in the end. This is one of them, and while the listing admits it needs a partial restoration, it may nonetheless be of interest to collectors. It’s also not fully stock, but the aftermarket mods are minimal and easily reversible, according to the seller.
