The
Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) was
Subaru's
World Rally Championship (WRC) team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with
State Express 555, a
BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on
Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003. Subaru's WRC efforts date back to 1980, however, the team, in its current form, has existed since 1989, when the British firm
Prodrive took over its operations, and its base moved from Japan to
Banbury, England.