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The Origins of Fuji Heavy Industries: Subaru’s Parent

Today, the name Subaru is synonymous with the car brand’s current slogan; “The Beauty of All Wheel Drive.” Yet one might be surprised to find out that Subaru’s roots trace back to Fuji Heavy Industries predecessor, Nakajima Aircraft. Nakajima, the man who founded the company that bore his name, caught news of the Wright Brothers successful first flight while he was enrolled in the Japanese navy and soon thereafter became involved in building airplanes for his country’s military. Eventually, Nakajima left the military to found Nakajima Aircraft Co, Ltd, which would eventually become Japan’s primary aircraft manufacturer.

However, once World War II had ended and aircraft production could no longer continue, the company was faced with a predicament. The name was changed to Fuji Sangyo Co. and a new focus was begun in an effort to use their aircraft technologies in other fields. Fuji Sangyo soon entered small markets that eventually led it to the automotive business. However in 1950, a corporate credit rearrangement law forced Fuji Sangyo to split into 12 separate companies including Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. Over a period of two years, various investors merged to form the currently known Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI).FHI’s First Car & The Beginning of Subaru

As FHI was trying to expand their market’s and utilize their experience in the aircraft field, they created their first prototype car which was announced in February 1954, the P-1. The car featured the first monocoque body manufactured in Japan.

Kenji Kita, FHI’s first president, was adamant that “Japanese cars should have Japanese names” and was very passionate about this in regards to this prototype P-1. While Kita had looked for idea’s to name the car, he settled on a name he had been secretly wanting: Subaru.

Subaru is a star cluster in the Taurus constellation that are familiar to some as the Pleiades. The star cluster is most noticeable by the six star pattern, also known as mustura-boshi, which can be found represented in today’s Subaru logo.

Now that Kenji Kita had established a name, the P-1 was officially called the Subaru 1500. While this car represented FHI (and now Subaru’s) move into the automotive segment, they failed to maintain sales due to insufficient funding and sales network.

A Milestone Achieved
While Subaru’s first car did not find success, the company aimed to create an affordable minicar. This car was to become an automobile for the masses, or the “people’s car”. Creating a car such as this proved to be a technological challenge, yet the task was taken and was accomplished. In 1958, the Subaru 360 was released providing a four passenger, four wheel minicar. The Subaru 360 enjoyed sales success for a period of 11 years.

Subaru didn’t stop after this first technological feat. They continued to work on technologies other manufacturers passed by including implementing a front-wheel drive system. Many manufacturers found that using front-wheel drive systems created undesirable driving characteristics including heavy steering, lack of vibration dampening, as well as a tendency to roll over.

This led Subaru to build the Subaru 1000 in 1966, their first car to have a front-wheel drive system, as well as using Subaru’s horizontally opposed boxer-style engine. By using their horizontally opposed engines, they were able to achieve a balance that other manufacturers couldn’t. In addition, they were able to overcome the obstacles that presented problems in the designs of their competitors.

All-Wheel Drive
After Subaru found a solution for a their front-wheel drive system, they continued to evolve their drive system. The next step in development would be their first implementation of a four-wheel drive system. The revolutionary use of four-wheel drive in a passenger car debuted in June 1971 with the arrival of the Subaru Leone 4WD Station Wagon.

While the Leone was used at first for special tasks such as commercial transportation through snowy or mountainous areas, it eventually became a popular car for many outdoor sports enthusiasts. It became so sought after that Subaru claimed it to be the world’s top-selling 4WD passenger car.

With the success of the Leone model also came various body configurations of the little car. In addition to the station wagon, a sedan, coupe and 3-door hatchback were also offered. But, it was the odd little pickup version dubbed “Brat” that won the hearts of so many enthusiasts and is still recalled fondly by Subaruphiles.

Subaru’s Innovation Continues
Subaru not only pioneered the integration of the four-wheel drive system in passenger cars, they also pioneered the development of the first electro-continuously variable transmission (eCVT). This transmission is quite different than the well-known automatic and manual transmissions many are familiar with. Instead of using gears like other transmissions, Subaru’s system used a system of pulleys and belts allowing the most appropriate gear ratio to be found. This system debuted in the 1987 Justy, and is also seen in the newer Pleo.

Other manufacturers are just starting to debut their own transmissions similar to Subaru’s eCVT system. Subaru’s eCVT system is yet another example of Subaru’s technological prowess and leadership.

Subaru’s Entry to Motorsports
In 1989, Subaru introduced it’s newest car; the Legacy. This car was to usher in Subaru’s motorsport era. In fact, the month before the official release of the Legacy, the car had already set a new 100,000-kilometer world speed record by maintaining an average speed of 138.78 mph (223.345km/h). Subaru’s success in it’s motorsports program was only about to begin.

Subaru then entered it’s first full campaign of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 1990. Using the Legacy as the platform of choice, Subaru was able to obtain the first Group N finish ever at the difficult Safari Rally. As Group N allows very few modifications to the cars, it was a true testament to the Legacy’s abilities. While the rest of the 1990 season didn’t meet with the same success, it offered a glimmer of Subaru’s potential.

It wasn’t until 1993 that Subaru had met any real success in the WRC. While they had demonstrated the Legacy was a capable car, it wasn’t until Rally New Zealand that Colin McRae demonstrated this by taking a first-place finish. This was also the last event for the Legacy, and just the beginning for Subaru’s newest car --- the Impreza. With a new car as well as the vivid blue color scheme of Subaru’s new sponsor (BAT, a UK tobacco company), they were ready to challenge the top WRC teams.

Once the Impreza was introduced and ran it’s first full season, many were left awestruck. It’s performance was nearly unmatched, and with the driver lineup Subaru had, they had become a viable threat to becoming the WRC champions.

These fears came true as Subaru won the Manufacturers Championship for 3 consecutive years, from 1995-1997. In 1995, Colin McRae went on to win the Driver’s Championship followed by Carlos Sainz, another Subaru pilot.

Subaru didn’t stop just because they had success in the WRC. Subaru also continued to set records with it’s newer cars. The restyled Legacy wagon set a world speed record for station wagons averaging 155.331 mph (249.981 km/h) in 1993. Before the Forester’s official introduction in 1997, it had already set a new 24-hour world speed record averaging 111.898 mph (180.082 km/h).

Subaru’s motorsports program continues to set new records and new standards, and remains a very competitive manufacturer in the WRC. As of this writing, Subaru driver Richard Burns won the 2001 WRC Driver’s Championship followed by Petter Solberg placing second in the 2002 WRC Driver’s Championship.

Subaru Today

Today, Subaru continues to demonstrate their engineering skills and ingenuity, as well as their performance in competition.

Subaru also continues to reinvent itself and explore and expand it’s market areas. In doing so, new market niches continue to be met by the brand.

As the SUV craze was ushered in during the 1990’s, Subaru was left with a decision. The brand known for its four-wheel drive availability had no entrant to this burgeoning segment of the automotive market. With the Forester only a glimmer in Subaru engineers’ eyes, the company chose to launch an SUV-inspired variation of its popular Legacy model, named the “Outback”.

During its years of production, the Outback has become a major sales success for Subaru. It has led the way in putting Subaru firmly back on the map in the lucrative US market and has inspired many competitors, including the Volvo XC and Audi allroad.

Even with the growing success of the Outback, Subaru decided they still needed a more SUV-like offering. With that need in mind, the Forester was brought to market with a more upright and truck-like appearance, but maintaining the driving dynamics of a car by utilizing the ultra-rigid Impreza platform.

During this same period, Subaru has garnered accolades of a far more performance-oriented type with their Impreza models. While somewhat tame offerings such as the 2.5 RS were offered stateside, turbocharged versions of the car set new standards in performance in Japan and Europe.

While these performance Impreza models were far from the refinement found in traditional performance offerings such as the BMW M3 or Toyota Supra, the little cars were a hit with a younger generation in both Asia and Europe. Their practical architecture meant they were quite utilitarian for an active lifestyle. Their raucous performance coupled with all-wheel drive meant they could hang with some of the toughest and more expensive performance cars out there. And finally, while the cars weren’t as luxurious as their aforementioned competition, this meant young people could not only afford to own them, they could also afford to personalize and upgrade them, only adding to the cult-like draw of these turbocharged Imprezas.

Even more recently, Subaru chose to return to some of its roots by releasing a distant cousin to the Brat; the Subaru Baja. The new offering is much larger than the original mini-pickup and gone are the rear jump seats that would make Subaru’s legal team squirm. In place though, Subaru opted to make the Baja a 4-door. This configuration is much more liveable for owners, especially the young families that buy its other Legacy models in droves.

Subaru also aims to provide more specialty cars for specific markets such as the 2.5l turbo Impreza WRX Sti intended for the North American market. The company continues to demonstrate that they want to be known more than just the car for an outdoor enthusiast by bringing out performance versions of nearly every car in their lineup. Tied in with their recent business alliances formed (such as with GM), Subaru’s future looks to be a bright and interesting one indeed.