Sometimes you just know when a Hot Wheels casting is going to be popular. This is one of them. The #’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version hit the pegs late last year as part of the #2020 Hot Wheels “A” case assortments. Subaru-savvy collectors knew exactly what this was as it isn’t your parents’ Subaru. Rather, it is the 22B — a rare 1:1 Subaru Impreza that was limited to 400 pieces in 1998. Currently, the car has a market value of over $100,000 and is known as the Holy Grail for any Subaru enthusiast.
Hot Wheels ’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version from the 2020 HW Turbo series (blue on orange track)
Hot Wheels has made a ton of limited edition real cars before so the coolness factor doesn’t hinge on that alone. To say that Hot Wheels designer, Ryu Asada did an excellent job on the design of this casting is an understatement — he nailed it. He got in all of the things that make the 22B special from an exterior perspective which includes (but is not limited to): hood scoop with two additional vents in hood, fog light covers, signature spoiler, and even the fender flares. This car was only sold in right-hand-drive countries (mostly Japan) so, of course, the interior reflects that. Add in the decision by the graphics team to forgo side graphics in lieu of the front and rear detail, and these #First Editions of the 22B are really something special.
Hot Wheels ’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version from the 2020 HW Turbo series (Red in-between ZAMAC and Blue)
The metalflake blue colorway came first, along with the “very Subaru”, gold #10-Spoke Wheels. I lost track of how many extras of this release I’ve accumulated, its that cool. I’m not one to hoard, but this one is something special. The 2nd colorway was in the metalflake dark red, which I don’t think the real car ever came in, but still looks nice. The 3rd colorway… wow. The #ZAMAC edition was teased at the convention last October and it doesn’t disappoint. The bare-metal, polished ZAMAC has become a signature of the Hot Wheels brand and sold as a #Walmart Exclusive here in the United States. It is by no means natural for a Subaru to appear in a near chrome finish, but who cares… it is one impressive Hot Wheels car.
Hot Wheels ’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version from the 2020 HW Turbo series (ZAMAC with Red and Blue in back)
Together, this trio of the #’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version jump starts what will surely be a highly-collectible ride full of exciting releases of this casting. Two premium releases of it have already been slated as the first one in blue with #Real Riders Modern Concave Wheels will be appearing in #Car Culture within the next month as part of the upcoming Modern Classics series. Hot Wheels Marketing Manager, Jimmy Liu has also confirmed that a premium rally edition version of the car will also be made within the next year or so. On the collaboration front, remember when skateboard/racer/personality, Bucky Lasek visited the Hot Wheels Design Center back in January? He brought his white 22B to that meeting so you just know that has to be coming out at some point as well. This is the start of one cool casting collection.
QUICK LINK! Find the Hot Wheels Subaru Impreza 22B on eBay.
Hot Wheels ’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version from the 2020 HW Turbo series (all 3, rear view)
All three versions of the #’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version can be found at retail now. The cases containing the blue colorway are several months old, so you may have to resort to stores that routinely get in older stock — like grocery stores — if you’re somehow still managing to chase that one down. The red colorway should be a lot easier to find. The #ZAMAC…. good luck! That one if being released right now as part of the Walmart “J” case dump bins, and most collectors are reporting that the Subaru is the first to go. Alongside it are the #’64 Chevy Nova Station Wagon and the #’87 Dodge D100 in the 3rd wave of ZAMACs for 2020.
QUICK LINK! Find the latest ZAMACs on eBay.
Hot Wheels ’98 Subaru Impreza 22B STi-Version from the 2020 HW Turbo series (ZAMAC with ’87 Dodge D100 and ’66 Nova Wagon)
Categories: Showcase
ORANGE TRACK DIECAST 
The 22B is without a doubt my favorite Subaru casting. As a long time Subaru fan & owner( I was even a Subaru dealership tech for a few years), the 22B, in 1:1 form, is indeed a Holy Grail car for me. I remember before HWs released the casting, when it was being teased in prototype form, saying to my group of collector buddies that this is the one casting I will hoard & if I see a kid walking down the isle at Target with one in their hands, I’m grabbing it from them( I was JK). I’ve even bought them from eBay just to ensure that I got the very first ones because I was afraid I wouldn’t find them on the pegs. So I was buying from eBay, versions of the casting from the first cases they showed up in, on US cards, international cards & short cards. I was actually able to find 2 zamacs on the pegs last weekend before going to eBay and I plan on getting those on the international and shorts as well. Mr. Asada did an incredible job with this casting, all three are beautiful. Subaru did use a red very close to the one used by HWs. It was called Sedona Red, but I’m not sure if it ever found itself sprayed on an actual 22B at the factory. But who cares? It’s gorgeous. Bucky Laseks car is not an actual 22B, it’s a heavily modified Impreza replica/tribute, but it is awesome still & if you want a 22B it is most likely the only way to have one. YouTuber Emelia Hartford also built a replica/tribute, but she purchased a Corvette C8 towards the end of the 22B build and hasn’t been paying much attention to it☹️. Great article Brad👍🏾, I am extremely happy you covered my “dream car”. I doubt I’ll ever own the real thing or even be able to make a replica/tribute like Bucky and Emelia did but I’ll have my HWs version & you can best believe, I will have every version that HWs makes. Thank you 🍻
Glad you like! Thanks for the tidbits of knowledge!
my machbox subru impresza wrx is an cop car
Cool little car for sure.
But have to politely disagree. That Prelude with the silver paint job and red interior is better looking to me. Wonder if it will get a metal base at some point too.
Thank you kind sir. I wouldn’t agree with that but cool model none-the-less. It’s part of a cool feature I have coming out on HWC (hopefully soon).
It is not, that title belongs to the 3 time DRC champion The Superman Steven King and his trusty 95 ford escort rally number 8. He has raced the Subaru on the famed DRC track and beat him squarely.
LOL…. the Escort is hardly a new model… that thing is 22 years old! It was a good race though, huh?
yes it was, that being said i do like the casting and i have a few myself, it is a classic
You can find the red one as a magnet on Etsy. The webpage is hotrodmagnets.etsy.com These are very cool! The blue one should be back in stock soon.
Down here in NZ we’re still waiting on the Red variation case due to Covid in guessing. Just checked out on Ebay for the zamac and the lowest I can get is roughly 15NZD each when buying multiples. Crazy that a guy pointed out to me the rarity of this Subaru. Nice job Mattel!
so how much is the blue 1 worth? because im trying to find the value of all my cars