World Rally Team Profile

Subaru World Rally Team.

Three Manufacturers’ Championships and three Drivers’ titles — and a blue-and-gold Impreza that became the most recognisable rally car ever built.

Subaru contested the World Rally Championship from 1990 until 2008, when the company withdrew. This is the record it left behind.

Base
Banbury, England
Debut
1990 Safari Rally
Final event
2008 Wales Rally GB
Team principal
David Richards
Titles
3 Manufacturers' · 3 Drivers'
Read the full history
3
Manufacturers' Titles
1995, 1996, 1997
3
Drivers' Titles
McRae, Burns, Solberg
47
Rally Wins
1990
First Rally
Safari Rally
Manufacturers' title years
1995 1996 1997
Overview

What Was the Subaru World Rally Team?

Subaru World Rally Team was the works Subaru entry in the World Rally Championship, run from Banbury in Oxfordshire under David Richards. It debuted at the 1990 Safari Rally with the Legacy RS and competed until the 2008 Wales Rally GB, when Subaru withdrew from the championship.

Its best years were the mid-1990s. Subaru won the Manufacturers’ Championship in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and Colin McRae took the 1995 Drivers’ Championship with the Impreza 555 in its blue and gold livery — the car and colours most people picture when they picture a rally car at all.

Two more Drivers’ titles followed with the Impreza: Richard Burns in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003, both in seasons when another manufacturer took the Manufacturers’ Championship. The team scored 47 rally wins in total.

Era 01 · 1990—1994

The Legacy Years

Subaru entered the World Rally Championship at the 1990 Safari Rally with the Legacy RS, a saloon that was quick but heavy, and spent four seasons learning the championship without winning it outright.

Colin McRae joined and grew up in the car. The Legacy's job was to get the team to the point where the Impreza could win.

Subaru World Rally Team Legacy RS Group A rally car racing on a dirt stage during the early 1990s championship development era Banbury · four seasons in the Legacy
Era 02 · 1995—1997

Blue and Gold

The Impreza 555 arrived and Subaru won the Manufacturers' Championship three years running, in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Colin McRae took the Drivers' title in 1995, the first British driver to do so.

The blue-and-gold 555 livery of these cars became the most recognisable in rallying, and is the reason most of this team's merchandise still sells.

Subaru World Rally Team Colin McRae driving the iconic blue and gold Impreza 555 during his 1995 World Rally Championship winning season Impreza 555 · three manufacturers' titles
Era 03 · 1998—2008

Burns, Solberg, and the End

The manufacturers' titles stopped but the drivers' titles did not. Richard Burns won the championship in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003, both in Imprezas, both in seasons when Peugeot and Citroën respectively took the manufacturers' crown.

Subaru contested its final event at the 2008 Wales Rally GB and withdrew from the World Rally Championship.

Subaru World Rally Team Impreza WRC navigating a gravel stage during the final championship years featuring champions Richard Burns and Petter Solberg Wales Rally GB · the last event
Team Timeline

Subaru in the WRC

1990

Championship Debut

Subaru enters the World Rally Championship at the Safari Rally with the Legacy RS.

1993

The Impreza Arrives

The Impreza replaces the Legacy and becomes the car the team is remembered for.

1995

First Titles

Subaru wins the Manufacturers' Championship and Colin McRae the Drivers' title.

1996

Second Manufacturers' Title

Subaru retains the manufacturers' crown; the drivers' title goes to Tommi Mäkinen.

1997

Third in a Row

A third consecutive Manufacturers' Championship with the Impreza WRC.

2001

Burns Takes the Title

Richard Burns wins the Drivers' Championship for Subaru.

2003

Solberg Takes the Title

Petter Solberg wins the Drivers' Championship, the team's last.

2008

Withdrawal

Subaru contests the Wales Rally GB and leaves the championship.

By the Numbers

Manufacturers' Championship Record

The three seasons in which Subaru won the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, the car that won it, and whether a Subaru driver took the Drivers' title the same year.
Season,Car,Drivers' Champion,Double Car Drivers' champion Double
1995 Impreza 555 Colin McRae Double
1996 Impreza 555 — Manufacturers' only
1997 Impreza WRC — Manufacturers' only

Two of Subaru's three Drivers' Championships fall outside this table: Richard Burns in 2001, when Peugeot won the manufacturers' title, and Petter Solberg in 2003, when Citroën did. In 1996 and 1997 the reverse applied — Subaru took the manufacturers' crown while Tommi Mäkinen won the drivers' title for Mitsubishi. Figures verified 14 August 2026.

Sources

  1. Subaru World Rally Team · Wikipedia — figures read from the infobox
  2. World Rally Championship · Wikipedia — champions table, per-season drivers' and manufacturers' titles
  3. McRae dies in helicopter accident · RTE — 2007, source of the David Richards quote
  4. Photo — Subaru Legacy RS Group A rally car · BWard 1997 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · cropped and resized
  5. Photo — Colin McRae's 1995 championship-winning Subaru Impreza · Brendan Mullan from Glasgow, Scotland via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  6. Photo — Subaru Impreza WRC, Goodwood 2014 · Nic Redhead via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  7. Photo — Subaru Legacy RS in Rothmans livery · Brendan Mullan from Glasgow, Scotland via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped and resized
  8. Photo — Subaru Impreza 555 (1996) · Cs-wolves via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  9. Photo — Subaru Impreza World Rally Car in 555 livery · MrWalkr via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
  10. Photo — Subaru Impreza World Rally Car in star livery · Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped and resized
Machinery

The Cars That Made Subaru

1990—93 Subaru Legacy RS rally car in the blue, white and gold Rothmans livery, side view, gold wheels

Subaru Legacy RS

Subaru's first World Rally Championship car, run from Banbury in Rothmans colours. It won once, at the 1993 Rally New Zealand with Colin McRae — the team's first win — and was replaced by the Impreza at that year's Rally Finland.

1993—96 Piero Liatti's 1996 World Rally Championship Subaru Impreza 555 in blue and yellow 555 livery

Subaru Impreza 555

The Group A car in blue and gold. It took the Manufacturers' Championship in 1995 and 1996, and carried Colin McRae to the 1995 Drivers' title — the livery that still sells more than anything else the team made.

1997—99 Subaru Impreza World Rally Car in blue and yellow 555 livery with gold wheels

Subaru Impreza World Rally Car

Built to the new World Rally Car rules that replaced Group A in 1997, and the car that won Subaru its third consecutive Manufacturers' Championship that year.

2000—03 Subaru Impreza World Rally Car in the team's blue and yellow star livery

Subaru Impreza World Rally Car

The 555 sponsorship gone and the blue-and-yellow star livery in its place. Richard Burns won the 2001 Drivers' Championship in the Impreza and Petter Solberg the 2003 title, the team's last.

Champions in Blue and Gold
CM
Colin McRae
1995 Drivers' Champion
RB
Richard Burns
2001 Drivers' Champion
PS
Petter Solberg
2003 Drivers' Champion
CA
Chris Atkinson
2005—2008
On Colin McRae
“He had a competitive spirit like I've never seen. He was one of those people who had an extraordinary spirit that you just can't define.”
David Richards, Subaru team principal, on Colin McRae, 2007
Frequently Asked

Frequently Asked Questions

How many championships did Subaru win in the WRC?
Three Manufacturers' Championships, in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and three Drivers' Championships — Colin McRae in 1995, Richard Burns in 2001 and Petter Solberg in 2003.
When did Subaru leave the World Rally Championship?
After the 2008 Wales Rally GB. Subaru withdrew from the championship at the end of that season.
What car is Subaru's rally team known for?
The Impreza, particularly the 555 in blue and gold — the livery most associated with the World Rally Championship. The team began with the Legacy RS in 1990.
Who was Colin McRae?
A Scottish driver who won the 1995 Drivers' Championship with Subaru, the first British driver to take the title. He later drove for Ford.
Where was the team based?
Banbury in Oxfordshire, England, under team principal David Richards, rather than in Japan.
How many rallies did Subaru win?
47 World Rally Championship events.
Why did Subaru win manufacturers' titles without drivers' titles in 1996 and 1997?
Because Tommi Mäkinen won the Drivers' Championship for Mitsubishi in both of those seasons while Subaru scored more points across its cars.
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