WR1 = "Petter Solberg special"? - or not?
 

I live in Italy and can get hold of 1 of the 200 "Solberg specials" (as they are called here). However, from what I can work out, the spec seems to be considerably inferior to the UK destined models which have the benefit of some Prodrive additional fettling. Can anyone advise if this is still a good buy at 42000 euros (= £30k in old money) Obviously I need a left hooker for the Italian market, and warranty, local servicing etc is also important. Too many models to choose from for a rookie scooby wannabe! Advice gratefully received please

Mike

UK price for the WR1 is £30k and for that you also get 18" rims, 320ps engine mods and lowered, stiffer springs all added by Prodrive. So if your version has none of these and is the same price then it would appear to not be such good value.

But you need left hooker, and you can't get a WR1 in Italy anyway. So only you can say if your car is worth £30k in your market. What do you pay for an STi? Can you get PPP on the STi? Could you add PPP to the Petter Solberg special?

It depends on what else is available in your home market. Even without the extra power/suspension/wheels the Solberg is a nice step up from the 'regular' UK STI the A-DCCD alone makes the car much more driver focused IMHO. (At least the DCCD in the 'classic' type R does)
So what premium is the Solberg over the standard STI in Italy?
Rgds
C

Solberg special
 

22K for 1 over here,
Although they are right hand drive :)

Italy availability and pricing
 

WRX is 30k euros (£20k) and STi is 39k euros (£27,500) - about the same as UK I think?
PPP is also known as Spec C, right? Is this available as an option/upgrade to a factory supplied STi or is it a modified version like Prodrive or Lichfield imports?
Thanks for the thoughts.

Spec C is a Japanese Domestic Market model and is not related to PPP in any way.

UK Sti price is 25k GBP, the 5k GBP difference to the WR1 is the upgraded power, wheels, Dccd-A etc.

PPP is prodrive performance pack, it's a factory endorsed engine mods package engineered by Prodrive, fitted by dealers, keeps the warrantly.

Costs £2k on an STi and takes it from 265 to 300ps. Costs £1600 on a WRX takes it from 225 to 265ps.

Isn't there two versions of the Petter Solberg special

one based on the STi (WR1)
and the other based on the WRX

No Jasoon. You're getting the European and Japanese market commemorative editions mixed up. In Europe, there's just one type of "special build" car, based on the STi, that is sold in the mainland markets as the Solberg Edition, and here (with additional tuning) as the WR1.

In Japan, there were two "V-Limited" models, one, as you say, based on the WRX, and the other on the STi.