This Subaru Impreza WRX STi has a chip and will therefore certainly exceed 300 hp.
Also visited the chip farmer, so well above 300 hp
Christian van Uijttewaal drove Subaru for six years, a bright blue sedan with golden wheels. Then you know what time it is. That car was declining, so Christian started looking for something else, but he simply wasn’t done with Subaru. It became another Impreza WRX STi.
There is a time for fun and foolishness. Next comes a time of using your mind and taking responsibility. The first time is much more fun than the second. That first was also the time of the blue Impreza WRX Sti. “An addictive car and what a pleasure I had in it”, Christian van Uijttewaal starts. The not-yet-thirty-something from Culemborg sometimes got tired of it. “With that blue rascal you were challenged at every traffic light. This is less often the case with this gray.”
The backrest of this Impreza WRX STi can be lowered
The blue WRX was starting to lose some of its shine. Christian then went looking and thought he killed two birds with one stone. He wanted a nice car again, but with little man Abe on the way, he wanted something more sensible than a bloody fast rally car for the public road. “I was thinking about a Seat Leon Cupra ST or a BMW 5 Series Touring,” he says. You can already feel him coming: he came across a gray, younger Subaru Impreza WRX Sti Executive. “I first asked the dealer if the rear seat back could be lowered; I couldn’t do that with my previous Impreza. He answered yes, gave a demonstration and I was sold. And so does the Impreza!”
This generation of the Impreza was only available as a hatchback from model year 2010, no longer as a sedan. The why is a mystery, because it was precisely that sedan shape that made the Japanese so unique. Christian hasn’t even considered buying a hatchback. Also special: the heavy feeling of the clutch and six-speed gearbox. You really have to operate this machine, with policy, concentration and a little bit of strength. The gear shifts are super short. You get a lot in return for all that.
Kleine likes to pull up hard
We know the Impreza of course and the temptations when you get into such a thing. Your expensive tires wear out faster than you expect, the tank is empty much sooner than you hope and every time you see a postman looming near the front yard you get a clammy back. According to Christian, the fines are not too bad and with little Abe on board, he takes it easy. Although … “Yes, he thinks it’s cool if I give it a good gas! He is not even a year old and only talks nonsense, but if we accelerate hard, he immediately starts laughing.”
Christian only drives the Subaru privately. For work, he drives a slightly tamer Ford Transit owned by his employer GMTO, a provider of automotive training, technical helpdesk and equipment for garages. His district covers the whole of the Netherlands, so Christian is more often on the road with a diesel bus than with his Japanese powerhouse.
This one is chipped
Even so, there are now 86,000 kilometers on the 2012 Impreza, which has been on its name since August 2022. The Subaru should deliver 300 horsepower, but Christian is a lover of a lot of horsepower and has therefore had some chipping done. The question is where are we going to end up now. “It’s a bit strange: this gray one feels faster than my previous one, but in the blue one you were a bit more challenged as a driver,” he says. He can safely take on any challenge with this gray ‘Sub’, because dynamometer chief Ghisbert van Ginhoven produces a beautiful 344 hp and 427 Nm. Strap in!