Prodrive P25 sold out fast, has WRC bodywork and an EJ25 block
CHICHESTER, UK – The Prodrive P25 made its public debut last weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and while there, Prodrive Chief Engineer Richard Thompson took us through some interesting details about the car and its engine and aerodynamic add-ons. Additionally, he revealed that all 25 examples of the car sold out extremely fast: in just three days. That’s impressive considering the car’s price tag of more than $500,000.
The engine of the P25 is the highlight, making 400 horsepower and 433 pound-feet of torque. Something interesting about it, though, is that it uses an EJ25 as its base, rather than a smaller-displacement EJ20 like the Japanese-market WRX STIs and even the race cars Prodrive has built in the past. The reason Thompson gave was simply that the EJ20 is out of production and not readily available. Prodrive wasn’t looking to custom cast or machine EJ20 engine blocks either, so it decided to use the EJ25, which has been used in European and American STI models. And to meet Prodrive’s needs, the company added custom sleeves and other internal upgrades to reinforce the engine for the greater horsepower, but also for durability when driven hard. Thompson did note that using the modern engine as a base had advantages, though. It brings variable cam timing support and general efficiency improvements over older EJ20 engines.
The P25 gets a substantially updated drivetrain, too. It has a triple-plate clutch and a sequential six-speed transmission, plus front and rear limited-slip differentials. But one part is basically all stock Subaru: the center differential. The P25’s center differential, which can adjust the torque bias front to rear, is mechanically the same as what Subaru uses in STIs. The main change is software for how it automatically adjusts the torque split.
While the engine and center differential have roots in road-going STIs, the body work is based on Prodrive’s race cars. Of course the fact that most of the body from bumper to bumper is carbon fiber is part of that, but the actual design of some of the body components is racing-based. The bumpers come from the rally cars circa 1997, and the rear wing is from the 2000 models. Furthermore, the width of the car is identical to the WRC cars: 1,770 mm, or 69.7 inches. So the P25 is about as close to a road-going WRC Impreza you can get.
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