360
1958 - 1970
As cars have become cheaper, it is easy to forget that there was a time when the average car represented a huge capital investment for the average person, and cars in Japan could easily cost more than the average house! So it was that in the mid 1950's, the engineers at Fuji Jidosha (later Fuji Heavy Industries) set about creating a low cost car "for the masses". | 1000
1966 - 1969
Aimed at the domestic Japanese family car market (the car was not exported), the Subaru 1000 was available in two-door, four-door or station wagon body styles. Subaru were becoming well known for their flat-four water-cooled engine in the front driving the front wheels, in this case the engine developing 55 bhp net from 977cc. | FF-1
1969 - 1971
That the Subaru FF-1 was an outstanding product of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., helped ensure the marques success both here in Australia, and the world. At its introduction in 1969, prices ranged from $1895 tax paid, cheap but certainly not nasty. |
Leone
1971 - 1979
While Fuji Heavy Industries has gone on to manufacture high quality, high performance and extremely well polished cars today, during the 1970's the Leone was not all that well sorted. The car lacked refinement, NVH was high, the seats uncomfortable and the frameless doors added to the feeling of the car being very "lightweight and tinny". Soon rust would become the early model Leone's biggest enemy, and seeing one on the roads today would be an extremely rare occurence. | Leone 4 x 4
1972 - 1979
The flat-four engine of the Subaru provided drive to the front wheels only, until four-wheel-drive was required. The extra drive could be engaged at any speed up to 80 km/h, however a warning light reminded the driver that the four-wheel option was intended for use only on soft ground; the Subaru did not have the luxury of a central differential. | Brumby
1974 - 1979
After only a few short years of distribution in Australia, Subaru quickly garnered a level of enthusiasm rarely found in Australia for Japanese cars, although it certainly nowhere near that for the revered Aussie sizes and bent eights. Most found the Subaru simply “unusual and mechanically interesting”, and who could blame them. |
GFT Coupe
1975 - 1979
One of the best things about the Subaru GFT coupe was its engine noise. At anything above 4000 rpm it emitted a sort of rapid-fire resonance which made it sound more like a five-litre sports sedan than a Japanese econo-coupe. The GFT resembled the GSR only until the tacho needle crossed the 4000 mark at the top of the dial. Then the engine noise built up until at the 6400 rpm redline. | Sherpa
1982 - 1989
Unlike today, buying a good quality small car in the 1980's was not so easy. Those in the know will tell you that there was one stand-out car, the zippy little Subaru Sherpa. The car had quickly become the micro-mini market leader in the Japanese domestic market, and with good reason. | Liberty
1989 - 1993
The first generation Subaru Liberty was introduced in 1989 as both a 4 door sedan and wagon. The name of Liberty was chosen for the Australian market over the overseas name of Legacy, owing to the Legacy organisation in Australia which assists war veterans and their families. |
Liberty (gen 2)
1994 - 1998
In 1994 Subaru released the Generation 2 Liberty. The new model carried over the conservative styling, with most commentators of the day describing it as an evolution rather than a revolution. This was something that, until now, had been the styling methodology applied to car design by the more prestigous European marques, and it seemed totally out of character for a Japanese manufacturer. | Liberty (gen 3)
1999 - 2003
In 2001 Subaru released the wonderful (read awesome) Liberty "B4". Powered by the EJ20B 69H turbocharged, intercooler, DOHC, 16-valve, 2-litre engine (it being the same basic design as the engine found in the Impreza WRX and the Generation 1 Liberty RS), the B4 quickly became king of the wagons, a real drivers car with blistering performance. | Liberty (gen 4)
2004 -
In 2003 Subaru released the Generation 4 Liberty. The styling of this model was a further evolution, exuding both elegance and simplicity of form from an understated profile of clean lines, reminiscent of the current crop of Audi's. |
Impreza WRX
1992 -
The first WRX was launched in 1992 as the (far) hottest version of the very-ordinary Impreza sedan. Powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre 16-valve boxer engine and putting all 240 horsepower to ground via the permanent 4-wheel drive, it immediately established itself as true drivers vehicle and modern classic. |
