N555 BAT

N555BAT is one of the Subaru Impreza 555's built by Prodrive in Banbury for the Subaru 555 World Rally Team to use in the 1996 WRC season. This particular car was initially used by '94 World Rally Champion Didier Auriol in Sweden that year before the car contested World Championship rallies in Argentina,

Australia, Italy and Spain in the hands of Piero Liatti. The Italian took the car to it's best result of the year when he and co driver Fabrizia Pons finished second in the season finale, Rally Catalunya in Spain, just seven seconds behind Subaru team mate Colin McRae in his identical Impreza.

N555BAT was then bought by Italian rally team ART and it won the Italian Championship in 1998 driven by Andrea Dallavilla. It then rallied in Portugal and the Azores before returning to the UK in 2003.

Ryan bought the car in 2008, returning it to the original colour scheme and has contested selected rallies with it since in Belgium, Barbados and the UK as well as taking it to demonstration events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Rally Day and Race Retro where the fans love to see the iconic blue and yellow machine in action. In early 2013 the car was also feature in the BBC Racing Legends documentary about the life of the great Colin McRae. The programme was presented by six time cycling gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy and he drove the car at the end of the show to really get a feel for what Colin had experienced on his way to winning the 1995 World Rally Championship in a very similar car.

N555BAT is one of just nine 'works' Group A Imprezas used by the 555 Subaru Team during the cars time in the top flight of rallying between 1993 and 1996. Of the nine it is thought to be the only one still used in active competition.