Welcome to Sunday Matinee, where we highlight classic car reviews or other longer videos I find on YouTube. Kick back and enjoy this blast from the past.
After years of kicking ass on the Subaru World Rally Team, Scottish driver Colin McRae propelled himself into the hearts and minds of racing fans everywhere by securing the championship title in 1995. McRae became a star, as did the little blue and yellow Boxer-powered demon. Both the man and the car are two of my biggest automotive heroes.
So you can't really fault Subaru for coming out with a special edition Impreza that bore his name. Only 200 of these "Series McRae" cars were ever built, making them ultra rare today, since probably more than a few ended up in ditches or wrapped around trees, as tends to happen to these kinds of cars.
And in this classic Top Gear clip, we see Tiff Needell get behind the wheel of one. Thankfully, it's more than just a badge package — it's been tuned by Prodrive and sports wider Pirelli tires. It also has gold wheels, because Subaru rally car. The result is a sedan that Tiff finds to be an absolute blast on the backroads, but also one that is practical and a bit of a sleeper.
Check out the video, which comes complete with plenty of Subaru-appropriate jumps and sideways action on dirt roads. McRae may be gone from us now, sadly, but I don't doubt his spirit lives on in hoons everywhere.
Do you have a favorite old-school Subaru?