All you need to know about Subaru
Date of birth: 1954
Nationality: Japanese
One of Japan's first aircraft factories, Nakajima Aircraft, evolved after the second World War into Fuji Heavy Industries, initially building motor scooters and bus bodies. In 1954, the company's first car, the P-1, was introduced and a year later became the Subaru 1500. The name came from a star cluster in the Taurus constellation, known in the West as Pleiades; its Japanese name means "six stars", hence the stars in the brand's logo.
In 1958 the company produced its first small car, the 360, affectionately known in Japan as the "Ladybird" because of its bug-like shape, and which continued production as a "people's car" until the early 1970s. By the mid-1960s, the Subaru model range was extended to bring the brand into the important one-litre engine segment, and a couple of years later exports of Subaru cars began to the important North American market.
The Subaru 1000 was also important in that it was the first car to be powered by an engine format that has become a Subaru trademark, the 'Boxer' horizontally-opposed four-cylinder. It was also the first Japanese FWD production car. In 1971, the Leone mid-sized family wagon came with the first production car AWD system. The next model breakthrough was the small Justy in 1984, to which in 1987 was fitted the world's first electronically-controlled CVT automatic transmission system.
The most well-known model for many years from Subaru on this side of the world, the Legacy saloon and station wagon, was launched in 1989, with the 4WD system first introduced on the predecessor Leone almost two decades before. In Japan it became the forerunner of a boom in wagons, and the model has completed three generations so far.
But the real attraction of Subaru has been for motorsports enthusiasts, where the World Rally Car performance has turned the name Subaru into every boy-racer's ultimate dream. The three-in-a-row winning of the WRC Championships by Subaru in 1995/96/97 cemented the brand in motorsport history, an achievement built on the foundation of a rally programme begun with entry to the 38th Safari Rally in 1990.
Today, the Subaru Impreza, initially a rather dull saloon and hatchback, has become one of the most sought-after performance road cars in a certain age group. It is hard to believe that its biggest claim to fame when it was introduced in 1991 was that it was the first car in the world to successfully use recycled painted plastic bumpers as raw material for exterior and interior parts. Subaru now has business alliances with General Motors and Suzuki.
Best Car: The very undersung current Legacy
Worst Car: The Vivio, too small and too late for the European mini car market
Weirdest Car: Any version of the current Impreza with those incredible aftermarket rear wings.