Subaru Impreza 22B STI

Japan contributes 48 cars to the 600-car Dream Car Garage catalogue, and the Subaru Impreza 22B STI occupies a distinctive position within that group. It is not defined by dominating the headline performance rankings, but by a combination of characteristics that few other cars in the collection share: a turbocharged flat-four, AWD, and a 1998 production count of 424 examples. Within the catalogue, just 2 cars pair a flat-four with AWD, and only 4 are turbocharged flat-four cars.

That unusual mechanical combination shapes the way the 22B STI sits among its 599 companions. Its 2.2-litre flat-four produces 276 bhp and 363 Nm, with a 0-100 km/h time of 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 248 km/h. Those figures place it 523rd for power, 492nd for acceleration, and 529th for top speed across the full catalogue, yet the car’s appeal is found in how those numbers arrive. The 22B STI is the most expensive flat-four car in the collection, with a used price of £120,000 and a cost per bhp of £435.

As a super saloon with a 2+2 seater fixed-head coupé body style, the Subaru brings a different specification profile to a luxury automotive collection. The flat-four layout is shared by just 6 of the 600 cars, making this engine configuration one of the least common technical choices represented here. Combined with AWD, it creates a pairing found in only 2 catalogue entries. The result is a car whose identity comes from a specific engineering arrangement rather than from being positioned at the highest point of any single performance table.

The 22B STI also occupies a measured place in terms of rarity. With 424 built, it is less common than most of the catalogue, although 71 of 177 catalogued cars with recorded production figures are rarer. That balance gives it a clear place among collectible cars without relying on exaggerated scarcity.

For a collector, the Subaru Impreza 22B STI represents a choice that sits away from the catalogue’s outright extremes. It is not among the highest-powered or fastest cars, and it is not the rarest, but it stands at the intersection of several uncommon traits: Japanese origin, a flat-four engine, turbocharging, AWD, and a price that makes it the most valuable flat-four car in the collection. It adds a precise and unusual point of reference to a garage built from 600 different possibilities.