Subaru is synonymous with the boxer engine and four-wheel drive layout, as well as having a huge enthusiast following worldwide. But I’d hazard a guess that not many people realise where that lineage descended from, nor what put Subaru on the map in rallying history.

Well, you’re looking at it. When the Legacy sedan replaced the smaller Leone in 1989, it brought Subaru up a notch in terms of quality and space to match the Japanese production sedan competition from Honda and Nissan. But along with the increase in physical dimensions, the Legacy’s drivetrain gave Subaru a great base to contest the World Rally Championship with, which in turn would boost road car sales.

In order go rallying at the highest level, Group A homologation requirements dictated a minimum quantity of road cars produced. And the Legacy RS – along with the more extreme RA-R and RS-RA variants – fulfilled that obligation.

Subaru enlisted Prodrive to develop and run the cars, starting what would become a two-decade-long relationship. The Legacy Group A machine was the first of the Prodrive-built Subarus, and one example still remains in Prodrive’s collection.

Over the course of time, most Legacy RS road cars – like this one I photographed at Rally Replay in Goodwood – have either ended up being modified for motorsport, been crashed, or are now beyond mechanically-viable repair. Finding one in such a well kept state 34 years after manufacture is scarce.

This car in particular had only one owner from new until it sold in 2021. It covered a scant 46,000km (29,000mi) in that time, and was serviced religiously on schedule.

The interior is unmarked, with era-typical velour and cloth figure-hugging bucket seats in the front and a matching bench in the rear. The clocks and dash layout is also a no-frills affair.

The only modification from standard are sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE-01 tyres.

In contrast to the later Impreza, the Legacy used a water-to-air intercooler for its turbocharged EJ20 motor. Its output – 220hp and 200ft/lbs of torque – may not seem like a lot nowadays, but in 1989 it provided decent performance.

As the story goes, the Legacy Group A car was actually favoured over the later Impreza by both Colin McRae and Richard Burns, owing to its longer wheelbase and wider track, which made the car more stable.

So given the choice between a Legacy or an Impreza, which would you be grabbing the keys to? While most would lean towards the Impreza, the Legacy being fairly unknown and sedate looking is my choice. I think it would be a great opportunity to listen to a proverbial tape, rather than CD, in Subaru’s back catalogue and give a greater appreciation for the inherent DNA passed down to subsequent models.

Chaydon Ford
Instagram: chaycore