Originally sold through a lottery and only available in Japan, today's Nice Price or No Dice Casa Blanca is a factory special built by Subaru. Now old enough to call America home, we'll have to decide if it's worth signing the adoption papers.

"Mission Impossible," both the original TV series and the Tom Cruise-led movies, usually has at least one instance per outing where someone on the IM team wears a disguise so elaborate and convincing—skin, hair, voice, bad breath—that they are almost undetectable. The ruse is revealed when the team member, typically Cruise, pulls the mask off in a single, dramatic motion, with the only disappointment being the lack of a "Ta da!" at the end.

The 1994 Ford Mustang GT we looked at on Tuesday came wearing a disguise—that of a Saleen S351 Mustang. Underneath all the badging, strengthening hoops, and deep front fascia, however, lurked your standard Tom Cruise... er, a Mustang GT with a 5.0 rather than the S351's hand-built, supercharged 351W V8. That hocus-pocus proved not to anyone's liking, and forced serious consideration of the seller's "firm" $9,000 asking price. When all was revealed, that fell in a 68% 'No Dice' loss, as poseurs rarely prosper around these parts.

Mi casa es su casa

Let's play a game. I'll describe a car, and you tell me if it exists: right-hand drive, boxer-four, full-time 4WD, wagon body, and dressed up like your grandma's Buick — round headlights, a vertical-slat chrome grille, cursive script badging, the works. Sounds like a fever dream some enthusiast cooked up in a garage, right?

Wrong. Subaru built this. On purpose. In Japan. And called it the Casa Blanca.

Today's contender is a genuine JDM-market 2000 Impreza Sportswagon Casa Blanca, legally imported under the 25-year rule and sitting in an import lot with a clean title and 84,500 miles on the clock. Underneath the costume, it's the same first-generation Impreza platform US buyers got — boxer engine, four-speed auto, all-wheel drive — just wearing a retro disguise that nobody stateside ever got to order. Round taillights, unique front and rear bumpers, factory 14-inch alloys, Casa Blanca badging, and an interior the seller swears is remarkably well-preserved for a car pushing 26 years old.

Limited edition

Subaru built only 5,000 Casa Blancas over the model's run, which, given the car's polarizing looks, still seems like a lot. Sales were through a lottery, but the company found few takers, as it really is a niche model.

Another questionable decision was to offer only the EJ15 1.5-liter four in the model, the lowest-displacement engine in the Impreza's arsenal. That only has 105 horsepower on tap, and with the automatic and the Casa Blanca's added weight, it'll be a bit of a slug. However, the mechanicals aren't the draw here— the weirdness is. The next owner isn't getting a fast car or even a particularly quick one. They're buying the only one at every cars-and-coffee, forever.

Seriously, how many of these models have found their way to the U.S.A.? I'd wager one, and this is the car. If you've ever had a hankering for a Casa Blanca, or just need to collect any and every even tangential reference to the film "Casablanca," this car is your ride or die.

Well preserved

In the car's favor, it looks to be in pretty good shape. The seller claims it to be in "Japanese Auction Grade 4" condition. That's right smack-dab in the middle of the auction grading scale, but as the Japanese tend to be harder on themselves and very prideful in the accuracy of their work, that's possibly selling the car short.

On the plus side, it does appear to have all the weird Casa Blanca trim intact, and nothing seems untoward about the base car either. The champagne paint also looks to be in remarkably good shape for a car of this age. On the downside, there is noticeable warping of the rear bumper, and the Blanca section of the Casa Blanca script on the hatch is leaning precariously.

Inside, it's all standard Subaru, with nothing to convey the unique character expressed by the exterior. Yes, this is a JDM car, meaning that everything is in metric measurements and the steering wheel is on the right. Everything else in the cloth-upholstered two-tone cabin appears normal and in decent condition. Other pluses include a clean Japanese title and a sticker on one cam cover indicating that the timing belt was replaced on January 29, 2021, at 86,897 kilometers. The car now shows 136,000 km, or around 84,500 miles.

Funky fresh?

The car is listed on the Los Angeles Craigslist classifieds, with pictures in the ad showing it in what appears to be a lot at the Port of Los Angeles. Here's the catch: this car, despite meeting the Federal Government's 25-year rule, is not BAR-compliant and hence can't be registered in California. A Montana registration can sidestep that issue, but don't tell anyone I said that.

According to the seller, it will come with the title, all appropriate import paperwork, and the asking price is $9,900. For $600 more, the seller will handle the registration, but again, that's going to be a challenge where the car presently sits.

What's your take on this incredibly rare and unique—and yes, weird—opportunity to own a nice example of a fever dream Impreza? Is it really worth the $9,900 the seller claims? Or at that much, would you give it a pass, comforted by the solace that, at least, we'll always have Paris?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

Hat tip to Don R. for the hookup!

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