THERE’S no mistaking Richard Perez’s 2006 Subaru Impreza STi wherever it goes, and that’s the way he likes it.

“Sometimes when I’m parked up people will just come up and take pictures,” Perez told Auto.

Modifications tend to fall into two brackets, speed or style, and Perez has made his choice clear with his Plasti-dipped factory wheels.

“I toyed with the idea and the colour. After some research I went with yellow blaze which came out great,” he explains.

This is his second STi, and he’s owned it for two years now. Perez lists his reasons for buying the Impreza as being looks and performance, with a heavy emphasis on the looks. Out the box, the STi is a macho beast due to its rally heritage. The neon yellow wheels somehow manage to match with the Subaru’s famous WR Blue paint. Then again, Subaru’s STi division, which developed the factory racer, has pink as their colour. A more restrained choice, red, was chosen for all the replacement hoses now sitting in the engine bay.

While the car was bought stock, Perez has kept things simple elsewhere. The visual enhancements continue with a lower front bumper lip and a roof vent for that authentic rally feel. Rally armour splash guards keep grime off the OEM paint. To give the car its signature BOXER engine growl he’s fitted an exhaust system. A HKS blow-off valve completes the list of pleasing turbocharged noises. The STi’s computer is known for its finickiness, so it’s been retuned using the Subaru standard choice of ECUTEK software. Making things safer is a larger CX-brand radiator to provide extra cooling.

Handling, which is already the vehicle’s forte, has been augmented by BC Racing coil-overs that also allow Perez to lower the body perfectly over the shocking coloured wheels. The car retains its sporty interior with only boost and air/fuel ratio gauges added.

“I’ve been trying to keep things as stock as possible, to avoid unreliability issues,” he said.

Even then, the urge to modify and stick out hasn’t left him. For the future he plans to invest in even more cooling via a front-mounted intercooler and some aftermarket rims.

— Rory Daley