We all love loud, ostentatious, flashy cars, but for today’s Nice Price or No Dice we’re taking a different approach. This Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B is sleek, understated, and quiet — until you step on the gas.
Last week’s Jaguar XKR prompted plenty of discussion around its reliability, but that wasn’t enough to deter 57 percent of you from saying you’d drop $18,950 to hear that supercharged V8 purr. That certifies it as a Nice Price win, but will our next forced-induction offering fare as well?
At first glance, this Spec.B looks like any other fourth-generation Legacy GT — at least, until you notice the massive front-mount intercooler sitting beneath the grille. Don’t go thinking this is some impractical, showy mod, though. The rest of the engine has the parts list to necessitate that airflow.
A “built” engine sits under that hood (though there’s no word as to whether that means a closed-deck block), with upgraded rods, pistons, head studs, cams, valve springs — the works. It’s all necessary, however, to handle the power of this Legacy’s Garrett 3582 turbocharger. That turbo is known for making some seriously impressive numbers on the EJ25 platform — 700 wheel horsepower isn’t impossible — and here produces a claimed 483 to the wheels in this meth-injected build. Perhaps the difference can be attributed to a lack of ethanol in the fuel, since no flex-fuel kit is mentioned on the mod list.
Of course, that all sounds like a recipe for a Subie that runs fast without ever running well. This example, however, seems to be truly built correctly. There’s a level of attention to detail that can only come from someone who’s really researched the platform. Torque Solution mounts hold the engine in place, and an IAG air-oil separator tries its best to stop the engine from drinking all its fuel, but the true indicator of quality comes in the interior.
This Legacy GT Spec.B has a double-DIN radio. In most cars, that’s no big deal — just an aftermarket radio swap — but 2009 is new enough that cars weren’t really built to accept new head units. This dark trim piece has to be ordered from Japan, for three-figure prices, just to throw a new radio in. You don’t do that if you’re slapping together a build for kicks.
What do you think? Is this subtle super sedan worth $17,999? Or is it just too dull and gray to earn your dollar?
You decide!
Wallington, NJ area Facebook Marketplace.