Subaru is synonymous with rallying, through its continuity in the sport, success, livery and the stars that elevated the Japanese manufacturer to icon status.
Beginning its relationship with British engineering firm Prodrive in 1989 when Subaru transferred its program from its Japan base to further build on the Legacy RS it was using at this time.
The marketing positives were high as Subaru at the time was still a oddity offering its soon to be famous Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system and was soon thrust into spotlight courtesy of its famous paint scheme thanks to sponsorship from cigarette brand State Express 555.
Subaru’s increased rally investment came at the right time as the new Impreza mid-size sedan and wagon was under development, plus a young Scottish star by the name of Colin McRae was soon to burst onto the scene.
Prodrive and Subaru’s campaign together began in 1990 by entraining a Group A-spec Legacy RS piloted by Markku Alén, but success failed to come immediately.
Alen scored a third in the 1991 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland before he was ousted for Ari Vatanen and McRae in 1992.
An improvement came as both Vatanen and McRae scored runner up results, but the illusive first win hadn’t been achieved yet.
In 1993, two momentous occasions occurred for Subaru during the season. The first was its first win thanks to McRae’s success in Rally New Zealand and the debut of the Impreza 555 at the very next event, the 1000 Lakes Rally.
The Impreza was a marketing machine and it didn’t take long for championship success to follow.
Already a multiple world champion, Carlos Sainz joined Subaru to further up the ante, but it was his junior teammate McRae taking the title in 1995.
Subaru was a force in the 1990s courtesy of its hat trick of Manufacturers’ Championships from 1995-1996.
However, the Drivers’ Championship went the way of Mitsubishi and its star Tommi Mäkinen, who won it four-times in-a-row.
Subaru’s program came to an end in 2008 due to the Global Financial Crisis, but it had won a further two Drivers’s Championship in 2001 with Richard Burns and with Petter Solberg in 2003.
During this time, 46 rally wins were clocked up and success slowed the longer the program went on to leave a disappointing conclusion to an iconic rallying campaign.