1999 Subaru Impreza RB5
Explore the Subaru Impreza RB5: history, verified identity, specification references, rarity evidence and real credited photos.
The Impreza RB5 commemorated Richard Burns’s place in Subaru’s rally team through a restrained British-market road edition. Its identity is more precise than the workbook’s WRX STI wording: RB5 belongs to the UK Impreza Turbo lineage, with a 444-car programme reference.
A driver tribute with a particular market identity
Subaru’s Czech distributor magazine records the RB5 as a 1999 Richard Burns tribute and gives a total of 444. This supports a named finite edition rather than a general claim that every contemporary Impreza was rare. The profile uses the clear Impreza RB5 name, avoiding an unsupported assumption that the car is a Japanese STI complete model. Market names matter because outwardly similar Imprezas can have different original equipment, approval histories and drivetrain specifications.
Subaru Czech distributor magazine: Impreza special-edition history, PDF page 17
Restraint gives the edition its character
The photographed car presents the familiar four-door Impreza form without the extreme widening associated with the 22B. That contrast is useful design interpretation: a commemorative edition can express identity through coordinated details rather than a wholly different body. The image is an illustration of the named edition, not proof that every visible component is unchanged from delivery. Identification should begin with the original vehicle and edition paperwork before individual cosmetic features are used as supporting evidence.
Separate edition identity from optional tuning
Performance packages and later modifications need their own records. An RB5 description should not assign the same present power output to every surviving example merely because a tuned car was used in a magazine test. Equally, fitting comparable upgrades to a normal Impreza does not create a genuine RB5. For a collector file, list original specification, documented delivery options and subsequent work in separate entries, making it possible to explain how the car reached its present configuration.
Subaru Czech distributor magazine: Impreza special-edition history, PDF page 17
Numbered evidence needs a continuous history
An edition plaque is useful, but it is strongest when connected to the VIN, original sales record and dated photographs. A removable badge or cabin plate cannot independently establish the complete vehicle’s history. Check whether repairs, replacement trim or an imported registration have interrupted that documentary chain. This approach also helps prevent the same car being catalogued twice under different registration numbers, owner descriptions or an additional tuning-package name.
Subaru Czech distributor magazine: Impreza special-edition history, PDF page 17
The Burns association should remain historically specific
The RB5 is a tribute from Burns’s active Subaru period, separate from the later memorial RB320. Their names, body generations and programme references should not be merged. The sourced historical context explains the edition without making claims about a particular car’s competition use, previous driver or present value. A road-going commemorative model does not acquire a works rally chassis history merely because the driver’s name or competition number inspired its designation.
Specifications and identity reference
| Reference year | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Identity used | Impreza RB5 |
| Market | United Kingdom |
| Programme reference | 444 cars in Subaru distributor retrospective |
| Body | Four-door road car |
| Naming correction | Not presented as a Japanese STI complete model |
Rarity and production scope
The official Subaru distributor retrospective attributes 444 cars to RB5. This is a named UK edition reference, not a count of all Impreza Turbo cars, a separate total for each tuning package or an independently reconstructed survivor register. The workbook’s WRX STI prefix is corrected in the public title while its original wording remains in the audit. No individual plaque number is inferred from the photograph.
What the photograph represents
An Impreza RB5 photographed at Classic Nostalgia in 2017. The registration visible in the image is photographic context, not an inferred factory edition number or current ownership claim.
Related Subaru profiles
Frequently asked questions
Is the RB5 the same edition as RB320?
No. They commemorate different moments in the Burns story and belong to different Impreza generations.
Does a performance upgrade establish RB5 membership?
No. A genuine RB5 needs its original identity and edition documentation, independently of later tuning.
What is the production-count boundary for this profile?
The official Subaru distributor retrospective attributes 444 cars to RB5. This is a named UK edition reference, not a count of all Impreza Turbo cars, a separate total for each tuning package or an independently reconstructed survivor register. The workbook’s WRX STI prefix is corrected in the public title while its original wording remains in the audit. No individual plaque number is inferred from the photograph.
Sources and further reading
Research checked 19 October 2026. Linked manufacturer heritage pages, factory announcements, official distributor publications and labelled contemporary coverage support the specifically identified claims. Photographic descriptions identify the illustrated subject. Design analysis and suggested authentication steps are editorial interpretation.
Built in limited numbers
The official Subaru distributor retrospective attributes 444 cars to RB5. This is a named UK edition reference, not a count of all Impreza Turbo cars, a separate total for each tuning package or an independently reconstructed survivor register. The workbook’s WRX STI prefix is corrected in the public title while its original wording remains in the audit. No individual plaque number is inferred from the photograph.
Gallery
Specifications
Factory specifications may vary by model year, market and configuration.
Identity & production
- Official model
- Subaru Impreza RB5
Sources and verification
Source citations are being prepared for this profile.
