Subaru WRX Gold Wheels Were Actually a Happy Accident

Instantly Recognizable

If we ask you to picture a ’90s Subaru Impreza WRX, you’ll probably imagine it in World Rally Blue with matching gold wheels. We can’t blame you for that, as it was the combination that was made popular by the competition model. If the rumble of the boxer engine wasn’t enough to catch your attention, the cars appearance would’ve left just as strong of an impression.

To this day, Subaru still pairs the two colors together, albeit not so much on the road cars. But the moment a factory-built WRX hits the rally stage, you can pretty much guarantee that it’ll be blue and gold. To think this all started with cigarette sponsor, State Express 555.

A Happy Accident

The now-iconic color scheme of Subaru was first used in the 1993 World Rally Championship season. It was the Legacy RS that wore it first, and as the team switched to the smaller and more nimble Impreza WRX, it carried on with the same livery. Mind you, even then the cars had gold wheels, even before the 555 sponsorship.

Fast forward to the 1997 WRC season, and the gold wheels were made even brighter, as if the car didn’t pop out enough by then. According to Prodrive boss and founder David Richards, those Speedline wheels were never intended for the Impreza WRC, and the car’s designer, Peter Stevens, was ‘appalled’ to hear that gold wheels were going on his creation.

The Backstory

So, what happened. During a live podcast shoot of The Intercooler, David Richards said the whole thing was allegedly due to a shipping error. “We turned up; the first rally of the WRC was in Monte Carlo in ’97. We turned up there with the new car and the wheel manufacturer was Speedline, I think, from Italy, and they sent the wheels along,” said Richards.

The ’97 Impreza WRC was supposed to wear charcoal gray wheels and not the gold ones. To make matters worse, all the wheels that were brought in was finished in that color. Prodrive had no choice but to slap on the delivered set and run with it.

The Win That Sealed the Deal

Those gold wheels must’ve been a lucky charm, as the Impreza won the season opener, the Monte Carlo Rally. It was driven by Piero Liatti and Fabrizia Pons, and if the latter sounds familiar, she was also the co-driver of Michèle Mouton during the Group B era. Of course, Subaru and Prodrive were happy with that, but Richards had to apologize to the president of the car company for using the wrong wheels on the car.

The president’s response? In a nutshell, it was effectively an ‘oh, well,’ as photos of the winning car was plastered pretty much everywhere. Richards said he was told by Subaru, “No, no, no, we’ve done all the advertising, you’ve got to remain with gold wheels from now on.”

The Gold Hits Different

We’ll probably never know the real reason behind the shipping error, although that mistake would be part of Subaru’s legacy on and off the rally stages and race tracks. It’s a bit of a ‘time traveler moves chair’ moment, but it did result in a signature look with a lasting impression. Had just one set been charcoal gray on that fateful day, the ’90s motorsport scene would’ve looked very different.

Let’s be honest, the Impreza WRC wouldn’t have the same visual impact if it had grey wheels. The same goes for the special edition road cars that were inspired by the rally cars. We can’t imagine anything else on those classic rally cars other than gold wheels, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.