A Brief History of Subaru's Cars

1953

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. was created for manufacturing and selling aircraft.
Pictured below is the Nakajima A1N and the A6M2-N.
Click the images to hear the sound of the vehicles throughout the website.

1954

Subaru 1500 released as their first passenger car. Only 20 of these vehicles were produced. Until 2012 it remained Subaru's only front engine RWD vehicle.

1958

Subaru 360 debuted. This car was sold between 1958-1971. It was made as the "People's" car because it was small and affordable. It was praised for being ugly but cheap.

1968

Subaru Sambar was the first vehicle that helped Subaru become known as a manufacturer of light passenger vehicles. They are incredibly small and have a two stroke motor. They have great mileage, but no performance.

1971

The Subaru Leone came out. It was the first 4WD passenger car. This is where the Subaru AWD system started.

1977

Subaru Brat was released. Subaru's iconic car with a cargo bed that had two rear facing seats in the back. The seats helped the vehicle be imported as a passenger vehicle rather than a pickup truck to avoid expensive tariff tax.

1984

Subaru Justy released. Came with one of the first Continuously Variable Transmissions. This made the car incredibly easy to drive, while giving it excellent mileage.

1989

Subaru Legacy line comes into view. It's the current oldest lineup of Subaru's. Some Legacy's see over half a million miles. The 1995 Legacy helped pave the way for cars with excellent IIHS crash test ratings.

1991

Subaru SVX released. This car is a sports coupe with push button 4wd, and a unique glass canopy. This car featured Subaru's horizontal 6-cylinder motor.

1992

Impreza released. This car brought about sports wagons with turbocharged engines. It started a revolution in the World Rally Cross scene.

1993

The Subaru Legacy Outback released. Brought about an off-road drive in a wagon body style. These cars are the most common Subaru's on the road today next to the Forester.

1997

The Subaru Forester was released. It is a small Sports Utility Vehicle and it helped push the market for SUVs.

2003

Subaru Baja released. A Second generation Subaru Outback with a cargo bed, like the Subaru Brat of earlier years.

2012

Subaru BRZ released. Co-created with Toyota, it is a rear wheel drive sports coupe with a Subaru motor.