Latest News
Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsTop 10 JDM Subaru Cars
Subaru is well-known for their capable 4WD cars and rally racing experience, but there are some JDM Subarus you may not have known about.Fuji Heavy Industries: Subaru Before Subaru
The history of Subaru dates back to 1915 when it was the Aircraft Research Laboratory, an aircraft research and production firm. Following World War II, the company would restructure into Fuji Sangyo Co, Ltd. and lend itself to producing motorized mopeds. After seeing some success, the company would merge with four other corporations during the 1950 Corporate Credit Rearrangement Act to become Fuji Heavy Industries.
Not too long after, the new corporate entity moved itself into the automobile business and produced their first car – the Subaru 1500. The new brand name “Subaru” that was attached to this vehicle came from then CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries, Kenji Kita. He had always loved the name, which was the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster that would also inspire the company’s logo.
Just a few years later, the Subaru 1000 would enter the market as Subaru’s first car to use the boxer style engine – a staple to the brand even today. Then, in 1968, Subaru would import their first car to the United States in the form of their tiny Subaru 360 establishing a foothold in the market. Then it all came together when Subaru found their niche in 1975 with the Subaru 4WD wagon – the first four-wheel drive passenger car sold in the United States.
All this leads to a brand that became a rally racing icon while producing some of the best passenger cars of the modern era. American audiences have experienced the performance of the Subaru Impreza WRX and practicality of the Subaru Forester, but we missed out on some of Subaru’s best cars. Specifically, ones tailored for the Japanese market. Here are some of the best JDM Subaru cars!
Subaru Sambar
Let’s start with perhaps every JDM enthusiast’s favorite kei vehicle – the Subaru Sambar. It’s a simple, super compact platform that can be found as a light-duty utility truck or a quirky passenger van with seating for up to seven. They’re great little platforms for transitioning into a tiny camper van, quick deliveries around town, or for swapping a Hayabusa engine in for some fun at car meets. Up until the ‘80s, the Sambar was strictly a rear-wheel drive vehicle. However, you can find Sambar models within that import window of over 25 years featuring available four-wheel drive, making them the perfect little trail runners.
Subaru Vivio RX-R
The Subaru Vivio is another JDM kei car that never made it to the States. While this quirky little hatchback is fun by itself, the one we’re looking at in particular is the RX-R model. The Subaru Vivio RX-R carried a supercharged 658 cc DOHC 16-valve inline-four engine. This tiny, supercharged engine produced just 63 horsepower and 65 lb-ft of torque. Albeit underpowered, this model coupled with Subaru’s 4WD made it a fun rally car entrant. Even Colin McRae has taken a modified example around the Safari Rally in 1993, but it definitely wasn’t keeping pace with the Toyota Celica Turbo.
Subaru Rex VX Supercharger
Subaru Rex was another kei hatchback that got the supercharger treatment. This little box car was given a similar treatment to the Vivio RX-R, creating the Rex VX Supercharger. Subaru installed a supercharged 658 cc SOHC 8-valve inline-four engine that produced 60 horsepower. It wasn’t particularly fast, but it was a fun hatchback with available 4WD and carried a sporty hood scoop.
Subaru Leone RX Turbo
Speaking of Subaru rally racing, the auto manufacturer’s first entrant into the World Rally Championship is often forgotten. The Subaru Leone DL was driven by the Subaru Rally Team Japan starting in 1980. While they didn’t place high initially, it gave them the drive to push their cars harder as they steadily climbed the ranks. This led to the creation of the Subaru Leone RX Turbo.
Subaru took both sedan and coupe Leone bodies and outfitted them with full-time 4WD and turbocharged 1.8L four-cylinder boxer engine that made 115 horsepower and 134 lb-ft of torque. Couple that with the locking center differential and the five-speed manual transmission paired with the two-speed transfer case making this quite the passenger car for getting off-road.
Subaru Exiga
A minivan may not seem exciting, but the Subaru Exiga would have done numbers in America. While technically proportioned as a three-row wagon, the Exiga had all of the right stuff to make driving a kid hauler cool. Not only was there seating for up to seven passengers inside, but it could be had with turbocharged flat-four engine and wore a WRX inspired hood scoop. The only thing holding the Exiga back from competing in North America was its lack of cargo space It’s the ultimate “dad car” that American dads never got.
Subaru Impreza Sportswagon WRX STI GF8
America didn’t receive a WRX model until the bugeye generation in 2002, so we missed out on some sweet Imprezas. Like the GF8 generation Subaru Impreza Sportswagon WRX STI for example. Subaru Tecnica International Inc., better known as STI, took the wagonized Impreza and gave it the full WRX experience that the sedan models were getting in the 90s. Not only does this Sportswagon carry the turbocharged 2.0L EJ20G boxer engine, but it was given all the WRX goodies along with specialized dual rear spoilers. Plus, if you’re looking to get even more rare, there were only 291 V Limited versions of this performance wagon built in 1997!
Subaru Forester STi II Type M
Speaking of fun STI creations we never got, how about the Subaru Forester STI II Type M. STI took the boxy wagon and gave its engine a tune to produce 247 horsepower. It also upgraded the handling by introducing dedicated struts and coil springs, large disc brakes, added brake cooling ducts in the front bumper, and installed RAYS 17-inch forged aluminum wheels. STI also crafted a unique body kit just for the Forester and installed a rear spoiler. Only 800 of these STI tuned Foresters were made.
Subaru Impreza 22B STI
When it comes to rare Impreza models, the 22B takes the cake. This was a homologation special version of the Impreza that won three consecutive World Rally Championships and only 400 were produced. Built as a two-door exclusively, the Impreza 22B STI featured extruded fenders, an aluminum hood featuring a now iconic hood scoop, large rear spoiler, and had cut weight by removing sound dampening and non-performance features.
Under the hood was the EJ22G engine, a bored out EJ20G to 2.2L with an air-to-air intercooler, that was rumored to produce 280 horsepower but in actuality was somewhere over 300. STI also installed a specially tuned suspension composed of Bilstein dampers with Eibach springs. The 22B was only sold with Sonic Blue Mica paint and wore golden BBS wheels, a now iconic pairing for STI models.
Subaru Impreza WRX STi S206 NBR Challenge Package
The STI S-cars are a line of special performance edition models produced predominantly for the JDM market exclusively. One of the more exciting versions from this exclusive set of STI modified cars is the S206 NBR Challenge Package models. To celebrate the WRX STI race car’s SP3T class win at the 2011 Nürburgring 24 Hours, STI introduced a commemorative package for the S206 Impreza models. 100 of these special edition models were given carbon fiber roofs and rear spoilers, a tuned suspension featuring Bilstein dampers, and 19-inch BBS wheels wrapped in street focused tires. That’s all in addition to the tuned EJ20 engine producing 320 horsepower and 318 lb-ft of torque.
Subaru Impreza WRX STi EJ20 Final Edition
Subaru fans loved the EJ20 engine since it first showed up in 1989, so it was a sad day when it went out of production in 2020. Subaru decided to honor their long running engine by introducing the Impreza WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition. This commemorative model was limited to 555 cars, a reference to their Group A rally car sponsor from the ‘90s. EJ20 Final Editions were Type S models given the golden BBS wheels, classic blue paint, Brembo brakes, all the STI components available for 2020, and, of course, the EJ20 under the hood. While America didn’t get to celebrate with this sendoff edition, we did get a chance at our own S-car with the S209 model in 2019 just before the EJ20 went in retirement. So that’s at least something.
