How often to you get a chance to buy a car that was on a magazine cover? Not just the same model, but the car.
This 2005 WRX STi was the first of a planned run of 21 Afshar Signature Series ESX cars, which was 50 state legal and sold directly through Subaru dealers. It was the cover car — May/June R&T Speed Magazine — and the personal car of actor, racer, and owner of Easy Street Motorsports Ali Afshar.
Drag Racer, Actor, and Subaru Fanatic
There are two ways that you might know the name Ali Afshar. The first is cars: Afshar and his team at ESX have two NHRA National Championships, 18 NHRA National event wins, the 2005 Rally America championship, and loads of IDRC and NOPI event wins. All with Subaru cars.
He did the first 7-second quarter-mile in an AWD Subaru, and a car that makes 1,400 horsepower from its 2.5L boxer four. His cars were the only NHRA championship team supported by Subaru of America.
The second way is on screen. Afshar has had a handful of supporting roles in movies and some recurring TV appearances. He’s also produced more than two dozen films.
Dealer-Available, Highly Built Subaru STi
But you’re not here for the screen credits; you’re here for the car. In 2005, Afshar and ESX released two lines of Signature Series cars that could be bought directly through new car dealers. One was a supercharged Aston Martin Vantage. The other was a run of heavily modified Subaru WRX STi.
The Subarus ended up getting a ton of attention. The car was featured in Road & Track Speed (a copy comes with the auction for this car) and Motor Trend, among others.
“Basically, the Afshar Signature Series ESX/STi can sweep you down the quarter mile in less than 12.2 seconds and still carry your family to the grocery store,” Afshar told MT at the time. “It’s a subtle, young, and moderately dressed Porsche killer.”
An extensive parts list included new injectors and fuel lines, a front mount intercooler, 3.5-inch exhaust, new Garrett turbos, and new engine management. The car made 437 horsepower to the wheels and 445 pound-feet of torque. That’s 137 horses more than the at-the-crank figure for the factory car. At least 20 horsepower (and probably more like 60) more than a contemporary Porsche 911 Turbo.
It left the factory painted black, but ESX added the red with white stripes. ESX also added the rear wing and custom wheels. The 10-spoke BBS wheels shown here will probably be to more peoples’ taste, but the original custom wheels are included in the auction. Also, check out the funky custom shift lever in this car!
I can’t figure out exactly how many cars customers ordered through Subaru dealers. I do know that it did well enough that ESX did it again in 2015 for the 10th anniversary.
Buy Now: 2005 Subaru ESX STi
This car, number 001 of the series, has just 31K miles on the odometer and a fresh timing belt service. It’s ready for its next enthusiast caretaker and to bring back your early ‘oughts nostalgia.
This 2005 Afshar Signature Series ESX STI is one of the most interesting cars we’ve seen for sale in a while, at least if you’re into semi-obscure high-performance Subarus. Dare we say, a holy grail Subaru.
You can find it live right now on Bring a Trailer. Don’t miss your opportunity to own a piece of Subaru history.
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