Richard’s GC8 | The Love of Substance

A couple weekends ago we caught up with Ralph and Richard in Concord. We were shooting Ralph’s gorgeous 968CS, and had no idea what Richard would rock up in.

I hadn’t seen his GC8 since the car had gone in for its second rebuild, and seeing the yellow Subie in the flesh reminded me why I wanted one so bad. Arriving in Australia as a kid, my family’s first car was a GX base model, but I distinctly remember asking the salesman for a remote controlled WRC replica.

No luck of course, but I ended up with a Colin McRae poster, car mid-air. It was such an iconic image, and along with my uncle’s VR4 (more on that in the future) it formed my first memories of performance vehicles.

Richard has owned this Club Spec Evo 4 since 2008(!), and in the past dozen years the car has changed significantly, much like Richard’s life. “The car now sits under a car cover,” he admitted to me during our shoot, “but in the beginning this GC8 was my daily”.

Richard’s GC8 began life as a daily, right now it’s a pretty track car “getting run in”.

Back in the 2000s, the WRX/STI developed a notorious reputation as a tuner vehicle for the wrong sort of crowd, but for the past five years the early chassis has taken on a classic status, not dissimilar to Evos of the same ilk. Finding a clean example is a difficult task, let alone a stock one.

Richard’s a collector, but what I appreciate is how he has continued to incorporate his desire to tinker and change with renewed principles, enhancing his special vehicles rather than keeping them stock for fear of valuation, without sacrificing the original intentions of the manufacturer.

Loving the pair of Recaros sitting in the front of the car, the Momo steering wheel is a great OEM option…

This GC8 is no different at its current, final stage. Richard noted that his build philosophy was to “improve the performance of the car and create something that the manufacturer would’ve if they had hindsight”.

In the car now sits a JDM-sourced EJ207, stroked to 2.2L with a slew of race bits to ensure maximum reliability on the track, for a Subie anyway. Having experienced two engine failures, a MoTec is now responsible for managing the system and looking after vitals. The suspension has been dialled in, brakes have been upgraded and the exterior over the past couple years was given an OEM+ refresh.

OEM+ BBK upgrade and BBS wheels from the later generation Impreza.

Over the course of his ownership, the GC8’s modification has mirrored that of its role in Richard’s life: ever-changing. It was his first “real” tuner car, a daily which developed into an entry level track build.

Richard acknowledges that its contemporary position as a valuable JDM vehicle was by coincidence, “I had no idea that the GC8 would be a collector’s item when I bought it”. The car now sits alongside a pantheon of high-value, collector’s items, all surefire investments.

Foggies, intake and big wangs, signature GC8 items that made this car so iconic when it launched in Australia a couple decades ago.

Yet, it’s the longevity and journey of the WRX that gives the car a different type of love. “The car is part of the family now, and with all the energy that I’ve put into it, I can’t imagine parting with it,” he reflects. “I like my other cars, but if I had to sell them I would… the WRX is my forever car”.

It goes to show the power of one’s personal experiences to form attachments to products, more than any marketing material, motorsport accomplishments or things outside of a person’s immediate exposure. While other cars in Richard’s garage are also adored, nothing gets his emotions going like the GC8. He’s wanted, and now has, the Black Series, the HSVs, the Hondas, but those same connections aren’t there.

Peter wasn’t the biggest fan of the “too creamy” yellow, but I love it.

Most people would say that the connection is built through time, the duration in which Richard has owned the GC8 vastly outlives the time he’s had all his other vehicles… combined.

The funny thing is, I asked him about his Landcruiser 200 which he purchased new in 2014, and whether the sentiment was the same. “No way,” he laughed, “I bought that because there is no other 4WD with the same value as the Landcruiser”.

JDM tails are apparently in the pipeline, to me they make a huge difference to the rear end of the car.

Richard summarises the difference well:

“The Landcruiser can be replaced at any time, and although I’ve been on adventures it hasn’t been modified to anywhere near the same level as the GC8. I did a lot of work on the Subie, to make it perfect for me. I’ve made mistakes with the car, and fixed them to get towards my goal. That’s what separates the two cars and my attachment.”

Loved this spot as a content location, we grabbed a set of Ralph’s 968CS here too.

In today’s cookie-cutter society, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to participate in activities and pursuits with depth. Trends come and go, passions are often superficial and driven by extrinsic influences. “Doing for the sake of doing” rings so true today, life is a checklist that needs to be ticked off, onto the next with fulfilment seemingly always around the next corner.

Recently I read that fulfilment is found through the journey, Richard’s automotive and build journey is reflective of this!

SPEC SHEET

POWERTRAIN