1 of 25 2015 Subaru WRX STI “Red Dragon”!

I wouldn’t normally stoop to pix of models with cars so bear with me. The 1 of 25 2015 Ali Afshar “Signature Series” ESX STI Special 10TH Anniversary “Red Dragon” Edition WRX STI unicorn being offered by CarMax (#46) was one of two used by ESX for the photo shoot when the car was rolled out in 2015 – #52 being the other. Brings some authenticity to it. Right up front I’ll say for the life of me I can’t solve why if only 25 cars were made the numbers on the intakes and the fenders are higher than 25. Perhaps there were 25 street and 25 off roaders? The car is not as fast as the 1 of 209 models of the 2019 Subaru STI S209 I covered back in August 2021, but it is more exclusive and the S209 sold for almost $70,000 used.

I don’t know much about Subarus and thanks to a kind reader for bringing this to my attention. What I’ve learned is Ali Afshar is an experienced Californian Subaru racing guy who founded Easy Street Motorsports (also known as ESX Motorsports) and an accomplished actor. In 2005 Subaru authorized Mr. Afshar to develop and sell the original limited edition 425 hp WRX STI, with 40 made in the initial run.

In 2015 Subaru again authorized a very limited run of 25 Ali Afshar 10th anniversary WRX Red Dragons. Two versions were made, a 355 hp street legal car and a 425 hp off road model. The cars are serialized with plates in the engine bay and a logo under the left front headlight. Are the cars any good? I can’t tell. Haven’t found any motor car magazines testing the Red Dragon versions. I have found WRX STI enthusiasts throwing shade saying it wasn’t worth the additional cost and not all that much better than a regular (as if there was a regular!) WRX STI.

The above two shots of the plate in the engine bay are from ESX Motorsports web site. The plate below is from the CarMax photo shoot. Really not as big a deal as I’m making it but still a little cool?

The interior is a bit loud but I think that’s consistent with the car. Interesting that the seat belt is some sort of racing four point harness. Not sure the point of the bar below. A brace? Grab bar for panicking passengers? Hang your sport coat when commuting?

Wondering about the shift knob. On the lot in Florida car #46 has a conventional manual transmission shift knob, while the Red Dragons originally came with the special “ESX Red Anodized Aluminum Shift Knob”. Wondering if one of the two previous owners swapped it out and kept as a souvenir before selling it to CarMax?

CarMax still lists this car as a 305 hp WRX, but it’s not. It’s the 355 hp Red Dragon. What’s also good is that MaxCare is available up to 150,000 miles and until 2027. With only 27,000 miles on it now you can drive it real hard worry free.

The shot above of #46 from the ESX website includes the window sticker. Any readers from the imagery community able to blow that up for me? Some of the criticism was the price tag – some said as much as $76,000, but cars were available for as low as $56,000 from some of the few dealers who had them. Not sure how accurate any of that was. A “regular” WRX STI had 305 hp and sold new for under $40,000. This one is now available for $36,998 so maybe not so bad now? That’s about the same price as any used 2015 Subaru WRX STI.

The 25 Red Dragons were originally allocated to just 10 dealerships – one in Connecticut, one in Pennsylvania, one in Oregon, four in California (Ali Afshar’s home state), and three in Florida, including Jacksonville, where this car was sold. The car currently shows as not available because it’s being considered for auction. Track it here in Clermont, Florida just 25 miles west of Orlando. If you really want it you can sign up for notifications if and when it becomes available.

Stock # 22729573  VIN # JF1VA2U60F9809148