Import a Subaru Impreza WRX STI from Japan to Ireland: GC8 at €200 and GDB at 41%
The EJ20 turbo Imprezas: GC8 STI Versions I to VI (1994 to 2000) and the GDB (2000 to 2007) in bugeye, blobeye and hawkeye forms, with the 280 ps EJ207 and six-speed.
The Impreza is the other half of Irish rallying, and it splits neatly across the 30-year line. The GC8 STI Versions from 1994 to the autumn of 1996 are €200 of VRT now, with the rest of the GC8s following through August 2030. The GDB, the six-speed EJ207 car everyone wants, was built from August 2000 and does not reach 30 until 2030 at the earliest; until then it is 41% of a valuation of €20,000 to €30,000.
Japan has thousands of GDBs, including the Spec C lightweight cars Europe never got, and the Irish market values a clean hawkeye STI in the high twenties. The British STI gives the certificate figures a disclosure can lean on; at around 265 g/km NEDC the band is 41% regardless and only the NOx line moves.
- Customs duty
- 0%
- With a Statement on Origin; 10% without one.
- VRT in the scenarios
- 0% to 41%
- of Revenue’s valuation, by CO2 band
- Landed, incl. fee
- €22,223 to €41,529
- across the scenarios and CO2 assumptions
- Exchange rate
- 180.94 ¥/€
- ECB, 18 Sept 2026, with the 2% buffer
Worked scenarios
Computed with the same engine as the calculator when this page was built. Prices and Irish values are assumptions. CO2 evidence would not change the band for this car: tested at 235, 265, 295 g/km it is 41% every time, so evidence only moves the NOx line. Open any row and replace the assumptions with a real car.
| Car | Price in Japan | Irish value | CO2 → band | Landed incl. fee | Open in calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 GC8 STI Version III, 130,000 kmPetrol | ¥2,600,000 | €22,000 | 30 years old → vintage rate, €200 | €22,223 | Open |
| 2003 GDB blobeye STI, 100,000 kmPetrol | ¥2,400,000 | €20,000 | 265 NEDC → 279 → band 20, 41% | €29,121 | Open |
| 2006 GDB hawkeye STI Spec C, 70,000 kmPetrol | ¥3,600,000 | €30,000 | 265 NEDC → 279 → band 20, 41% | €41,629 | Open |
- 1996 GC8 STI Version III, 130,000 km: A Version III saloon that turned 30 in September 2026; price from the 2026 range, value an estimate. €200 VRT, no levy.
- 2003 GDB blobeye STI, 100,000 km: A standard blobeye at the middle of the 2026 range; about 265 g/km NEDC and a NOx figure of about 40 mg/km assumed via a disclosure based on the British car. Value from the Irish cluster.
- 2006 GDB hawkeye STI Spec C, 70,000 km: A Spec C lightweight Europe never got; figures as for the blobeye. The valuation is the top of the Irish range and uncertain because there is no direct comparable.
VRT and the OMSP
GC8s built to 30 years before the day you register pay €200. Every GDB is band 20 at 41% on any evidence, with the certificate figures around 265 g/km NEDC; the valuation is the bill, €8,200 on a blobeye valued at €20,000 and €12,300 on a hawkeye valued at €30,000.
The first GDBs turn 30 in August 2030. For a bugeye that is a wait worth about €8,000; for a hawkeye it is 2035 and not a plan.
NOx levy
This car was also sold new in Europe, so a certificate of conformity for the equivalent model exists and a disclosure usually returns a NOx figure in the tens of milligrams: a levy of €150 to €400 rather than the €600 default. The CO2 figure it carries is above 190 g/km, so the band stays at 41%.
Without evidence Revenue charges €600 for petrol and hybrid cars, €4,850 for diesels.
Customs duty and origin
Japanese-built, so 0% customs duty applies with a Statement on Origin from the exporter; without it 10% of the customs value is charged and VAT is charged on the duty too. Heading 9705 adds nothing to a Japanese-built car over 30: the duty is already nil and Revenue keeps the VAT at 23% for a car that will be driven (V19). A modified car is still the same car for duty: origin follows the shell, not the engine in it.
Built in: Japan (Subaru, Gunma). Japanese-built, so the EU–Japan 0% duty rate applies with a Statement on Origin.
Insurance
As for the Evo: a specialist market that treats the STI as a rally car, wants modifications declared and a driver well into their twenties, and prices in the model’s theft history. Classic policies with agreed value open up for the GC8s over 30.
Generations
- GC8 STI Version I to VI (January 1994 to August 2000): the EJ20 at 250 rising to 280 ps, five-speed manual, coupé (Type R) and saloon; the 22B is a different market. Cars built to the autumn of 1996 are over 30 now.
- GDB bugeye (August 2000 to November 2002) and blobeye (to June 2005): EJ207, 280 ps, six-speed manual, DCCD on the better grades, Spec C lightweights from 2001.
- GDB hawkeye (June 2005 to 2007): the last of the generation with the revised front, Spec C and the S204; none reaches 30 before June 2035.
Before you bid
- Ringland failure on tuned EJ207s: a compression and leak-down test before the bid, and a preference for standard boost.
- Welded or two-way differentials, hydraulic handbrakes, cut springs and knock-off coil-overs all appear on cars that read as standard in the photographs; ask for the auction sheet and underside pictures before you bid.
- Grade R and RA are repaired cars, common in this trade. Look at the chassis rails, the strut towers and the rear quarters in the pictures, and price a repaired shell as one.
- A Japanese bolt-in cage is not a competition cage here: Drift Masters has prohibited them since 2016 and Irish series run to FIA-style weld-in specifications. Budget for a cage if you intend to compete.
- A caged, lowered or non-running car cannot go on RoRo. Price the container in from the start, alone or shared.
- Spec C and Type R cars are lighter and rarer, and also the most likely to have been used hard; the auction sheet and the underside tell you which.
Where the numbers come from
- Japanese prices in 2026: GC8 STI Version III to VI cars ¥2,200,000 to ¥4,500,000 with Type R coupés at the top, GDB blobeye ¥2,000,000 to ¥3,000,000, hawkeye ¥2,500,000 to ¥4,000,000 with Spec C above (exporter listings and auction results; directional).
- Irish STI asking prices in 2026: GDB cars €18,000 to €30,000 with hawkeyes at the top, GC8 STIs €20,000 to €32,000 as classics (DoneDeal and cars.ie, dated). The scenarios use €20,000 to €30,000.
- The British WRX STI certificates carry CO2 figures around 265 g/km NEDC and NOx figures in the tens of milligrams; a disclosure based on the equivalent car is the usual route for a Japanese GDB.
Questions people ask
Which Imprezas are 30 years old now?
GC8s first registered in Japan 30 years or more before the day they are registered in Ireland: in late 2026, the STI Versions I to III built to the autumn of 1996. The later GC8s follow through August 2030; no GDB qualifies before then.
How much VRT does a GDB STI pay?
41% of Revenue’s valuation plus the NOx levy: on €20,000 about €8,200, on €30,000 about €12,300, and about €200 of levy with a NOx figure from the British car’s certificate.
Can I buy it now and register it when it turns 30?
Not by keeping it unregistered in Ireland. The lawful route is to leave the car in Japan, in storage at the exporter’s yard, until its 30th birthday and ship it then; we are pricing that storage (V25). The calculator shows the landed cost on both dates for any car under 30.
If it only ever goes to the track, do I still pay VRT?
Yes. A vehicle kept in the State must be registered within 30 days of arrival, and possession of an unregistered vehicle is an offence under the Finance Act 1992. Revenue’s competition exemption covers a car that comes in for an event and leaves again, not one that lives here. We are confirming this in writing (V21) and will not advise around it.
How long does the import take?
Typically 8 to 14 weeks from auction to Irish plates: a week or two in Japan for deregistration and export paperwork, four to six at sea, then customs clearance, the NCTS appointment and registration.
Price a real Impreza WRX STI GDB
Put a real auction listing into the calculator: hammer price, mileage and the CO2 figure if you have it. You get every cost line and a range, and you can send it to us for sourcing from there.
Other models
Rules version 2026-09-17. Estimates only; VRT is assessed by Revenue at registration. Page computed at build time; the calculator uses the exchange rate of the day.