30th Anniversary of the Impreza Group A

Repubblic of San Marino.

There could be no better place than Rallylegend at which to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Subaru Impreza 555’s debut in the World Rally Championship, which came at the 1993 1000 Lakes rally. An event that will undoubtedly go down in Rallylegend history.

Carlo Boroli at Best, together with the support of Rallylegend’s Vito Piarulli, had the ambitious aim to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Group A Subaru Impreza by bringing together the fifteen best ex-works Subaru Impreza 555 cars produced by Prodrive, those driven by all the great champions of the 90s. Prodrive with David Richards, along with the whole McRae family, responded positively and enthusiastically to the invitation, confirming their attendance in San Marino and ensuring that the event planned for Rallylegend will be totally unique.

Prodrive will exhibit and parade with the legendary N1WRC, the car driven by Colin during the 1996 season and now curated by the heritage department at the Banbury company HQ. In total, there are more than fifteen vehicles on the entry list. In addition to the N1WRC, there is the L555BAT, a car that belongs to the family of the late Colin, to be driven by Jimmy McRae with niece Hollie on the notes. Other ‘prestigious plates’ on the list include the L555REP, the N555SRT and the N555BAT, driven in the past by the likes of Carlos Sainz, Piero Liatti, who will be part of the team at Rallylegend, the late Richard Burns, Miki Biasion and Simon Jean Joseph. Also set to drive two Impreza 555 cars at Rallylegend are Alister McRae and Max McRae, Colin’s brother and nephew. The Impreza with plate L439BXP will be fielded in the Rallylegend race by multi-titled MX champion Tony Cairoli, while the great Uruguayan driver Gustavo Trelles will take on the Rallylegend special stages at the wheel of the Best Impreza 01. Fellow South American driver Marcos Ligato will be at the wheel of a “555”.

Carlo Boroli, founder of Best, comments: “The Best mission is to “keep the legends alive”, starting with the creation of the Best Impreza, the only Group A car continuation in a limited edition of eight, to celebrate Colin’s WRC wins with the Impreza 555. I’ve worked on this event for years and the participation of all the ex-works Group A Impreza vehicles and also Prodrive, who created them, is a huge success that I hope the Rallylegend public will truly appreciate.”

Hollie McRae will be a Best Special Guest for the second year running and, together with Carlo Boroli, will present the Talk Show on the Subaru Impreza on the afternoon of Friday 13 October in Rally Village, with special guests and the presentation of a special prize to Prodrive.

The ex-works Imprezas will be joined by Best’s latest creation – the Best Impreza03 created to commemorate Colin’s third win with the Group A Impreza in the 1995 New Zealand Rally.

The Imprezas of the celebration will then perform, all together, in the Saturday morning Parade, on the special stage “The Legend”, for an unforgettable show.

The fifteen cars involved in the celebration will be joined by a further five Subaru Impreza 555 cars that are entered into the rally, for a “blue wave” comprising twenty vehicles in total.