2005 Impreza GDA with replica colors installed

The “Rally Fan Meeting” was held in October 2023 at the Fuji Speedway. As the event name “Rally” implies, many so-called “replica cars” imitated the livery of rally cars. Female owner Ms. “Mimi” is one of the owners of such replica cars. 

She became a car enthusiast under the influence of her father

Ms. “Mimi” says that she naturally fell in love with cars under the influence of her car-loving father. The first Subaru “Impreza” she drove in a game appealed to her because of its ease of handling, and she thought, “I want to drive an Impreza when I get my driver’s license”.

Due to circumstances, she was given a limited AT license, but her goal of driving an Impreza remained the same, and she searched for one. She found a 2005 Impreza GDA, which she still owns today. She has owned the car for about six years now, and it has been running quite well with a mileage of 175,000 km.

She wanted to try a replica color once

She has been enjoying customizing and driving the car since purchasing it. The first and most distinctive feature is the replica color. She used to use a shark-mouth-like coloring, one of the shark-like paints often used on fighter planes. The small sharkmouths and other remnants are said to be the remnants of this.

However, the replica color was constructed because “I wanted to try it once”. In addition to simply mimicking the coloring, a camera case was also installed on the roof.

The car has been customized in many other ways, but we asked her about her beloved points.

“There are many things, but I would have to say the 9.5J Ray’s Gram Lites wheels on the rear!　I can’t help but grin when I see the fat wheels peeking out from the mirrors. Other than that, I just love the unequal-length sound that is typical of a boxer engine!”

And she seems to have become a total Subaruist.

The intercooler, tower bar, and muffler were all items that were given to her by her partner who was with her that day. Incidentally, her partner is an Impreza GDB driver, and they met because of the car they were driving.

Considering changing the dampers

She is now enjoying circuit driving as well. She has already driven the car three times and said that she is considering strengthening the brakes, probably because she drove the Honjo Circuit, which puts a lot of stress on the brakes. She is also considering changing the dampers.

“I would like to add more stickers to make it more reproducible and original.”