Subaru announced of a 280 PS Impreza Turbo two door saloon – exclusively available in its UK dealer showrooms. The new Impreza P1 leaves Subaru’s Japanese factory to a specification extensively modified to suit UK driving conditions.

Painstaking development work over the year resulted in a car which not only meets the most stringent European Whole Vehicle Type Approval regulations but gives class-leading levels of ride and handling.

Prodrive Limited dedicated a team of chassis engineers to create the best real world drivers car.

Called Subaru Impreza P1 (Prodrive One) the ultimate real world driver’s car is planned to be the first in a line of ultra high-performance models which comply with all official noise, emission, environmental and safety rules.

By contrast, the various Japanese specification Impreza Turbo derivatives – which are not designed for UK driving conditions – can only be sold by grey importers via the less demanding Single Vehicle Approval regulations.

But instead of developing a car which merely scraped through legal requirements, Subaru UK also set out to beat benchmark cars such as the latest Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI and BMW M3 for performance, ride and handling and genuine B-road thrills. Power leaps from the standard Turbo’s already outstanding 218 PS at 5,600 rpm to 280 PS, while torque has increased to an estimated 260 lb.ft compared to the normal model’s 214 lb.ft at 4,000 rpm. Precise power and torque figures will be released at the London Motor Show.