Founded in 1953, Subaru currently manufactures its own brand cars and also Toyota cars assembled under contract as part of Fuji Heavy Industries International. In 2012, he was the 20th largest car maker in the world.
Known primarily for the compact engine type for vehicles over 1500 cc and for symmetric all-wheel drive introduced in 1972, these two Subaru innovations have become standard equipment for medium cars since 1996.
Subaru is the Japanese name for Pleiade ("The 7 sisters "- of which a sister is invisible - that's why the logo has only 6 stars.).
Fuji Heavy Industries started as an aeronautical research laboratory in 1915, was reorganized in 1932 as the Nakajima Aircraft Company and became a major aircraft manufacturer in Japan during the Second World War. At the end of the war, the company was reorganized as Fuji Sangyo, which split up a year later in 12 corporations. Between 1953 and 1955 merged and formed Fuji Heavy Industries.
The first Subaru was named Subaru 1500 and only 20 units were produced due to stock deficiencies and suppliers. Since 1954 the company has created models such as 1500 (1954), 360 (1958), Sambar (1961), 1000 (1965 - with the introduction of the boxer engine), R-2 (1969), Rex and Leone 1978), Alcyone (1985), Legacy (1989), Impreza (1993), Forester (1997), Tribeca (2005), Exiga (2008) and BRZ (2012).
Subaru's environmental protection policy is truly stunning: the Lafayette factory was the first automotive factory that does not damage the environment and does not dispose of waste. In addition, most of the machines are made of easily recyclable materials - the engine, transmission, suspension, a total of 97.3% of the vehicle can be recycled.
Subaru in Motorsport
Between 1980 and 1989 the Subaru team competed in the WRC with Subaru Leone coupe, DL, SRX and RX Turbo. Subaru's names include: Colin McRae (!), Richard Burns, Petter Solberg, Ari Vatanen, Per Eklund, Shekhar Mehta, Mike Kirkland, Possum Bourne and Harald Demut.
He won Group A at the Safari Rally in 1986 and the 6th place was led by Mike Kirkland, being one of the first producers to combine the four-wheel drive and the turbine after the introduction of the Audi Quattro in 1980. Audi withdrew for safety reasons the beginning of the 1986 season.
During 1990-1992 the rally car became Legacy RS with which they participated in the first full WRC season in 1993. Also in the early 1990s Subaru established some legacy records with Legacy.
Between 1995 and 1997 Subaru won the title of the year's manufacturer three times with Impreza WRX and WRX STi. Subaru's WRC earnings with Colin McRae in 1995, Richard Burns in 2001 and Petter .Solberg in 2003, are also a clear proof of the manufacturer's performance. In addition, the cars are equipped by the British Prodrive team.
Subaru's involvement in Formula1 was a passenger alongside the Coloni team in the 1990s. The 3B 12-cylinder model was compact like the Subaru engines with the boxer but was produced by Motori Moderni. In the end, the cars were too heavy and too weak and the partnership was over.
With the WRC phenomenon, Subaru has returned to the rally and won six titles in America between 2001-2011 and a local team.
At the end of 2008, Subaru announced their withdrawal from WRC for both economic reasons and because they felt they had achieved their marketing goals.
Starting in 2006 Subaru of America participates in the Subaru Road Racing Team with a 2.5 GT Legacy.
In 2012 Subaru USA announced that the team will participate in Global RallyCross.
Technology
In 2007, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, they introduced a turbodiesel liquid turbine engine using a variable geometry turbine called Subaru EE. The engine is 150 hp, 350 Nm and 2.0 liter. The engine was introduced in Europe in 2008 on Legacy.
In the same year at the Paris Motor Show they also introduced Forester and Impreza with the same engine and 6-speed manual gearboxes.
In 2006, Subaru Stella launched an electric plug-in vehicle equipped with 64-liter Li-ion battery and fast charging. Other electric models are the G4e and R1e that have not been heard for quite some time, and the hybrid Tourer - concept with a 2.0l turbocharged engine and two axle-mounted motors.