Subaru Boxer Engine Celebrates 50 Years
Subaru had humble beginnings. Starting in 1954, the first vehicle, code name P-1, rolled off the line. Only 20 were made. Not a good start. Over the next 12 years, the factory inched along, bringing out an air-cooled 360 in ’58, and another called the Sambar in ’61. Not going anywhere, change was needed. The year was 1966, and down the assembly line came the Subaru 1000 with fanfare – it had a boxer engine. Delivering 54HP, the Subaru 1000 had just enough power to push sales forward. The water-cooled engine used overhead valves driven by push rods to deliver power…
