Subaru WRX
2022 08 16 CCC Blog Post – Subaru Performance Car Timeline
The Creation and Rise of Subaru
Established in 1917, Subaru was initially known as Nakajima Aircraft Company. It wasn’t until 1953, when Subaru decided to focus on automotive, it rebranded itself as Fuji Heavy Industries. Then in 2017 its corporate name was changed to Subaru, the biggest line of business.
The Subaru Companywas founded by Kenji Kita and Chikuhei Nakajima in 1953. Since, the company has grown to become a global player with six manufacturing plants and an annual production capacity of more than 750,000 units.
The company offers a range of vehicles for different purposes. The Subaru Sport Cars are designed for performance and are mostly sold to people who love efficient performance, most offering all wheel drive. Some models can do the 0-60 mph romp in less than six seconds, impressive for cars in their price range.
The first Subaru car was introduced in 1954 as the Subaru 1500. The company has since expanded to include many different models – on the sporty side, the Subaru BRZ, WRX, SVX, XT – to name a few..
Our favorite Subaru performance cars in a timeline
Subaru XT and XT6 – With style that was both elegant and reflective of the era, the Subaru XT changed the production car game upon release. This new Subaru’s interior was inspired by jets, the asymmetrical two-spoke steering wheel was particularly noteworthy,, with performance that got the attention of cars of its era. The XT came equipped in both FWD and AWD versions, with the press of a button, the car can shift into AWD with dashboard animations that play on the fighter jet aesthetic. Subaru XT6 was one of Subaru’s first production cars with 145 Horsepower and 156 lb.-ft. of torque.
Subaru SVX – This model is a rare gem, it came with a controversial window design, as well as technological, performance, and luxury innovations. In addition, the SVX offered what was then the biggest engine Subaru had produced,. Subaru did not offer the car with a manual transmission, only automatic – occasionally manual conversions are offered on the Used market and usually fetch a decent price. The SVX produced 230 horsepower and 228 lb.-ft. of torque, metrics that period Subaru manual transmissions could not handle.
Subaru BRZ – Co-developed with Toyota, the BRZ is viewed by many as one of the most fun budget performance cars in today’s market, with clean design made to enhance the overall performance and a sturdy chassis and all the modern technological features.
This car has most of what someone interested in a budget performance coupe would seek. Under the hood of the BRZ is a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine with 228 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. The current Toyota version is the Toyota 86, succeeding the Scion FR-S and then Toyota FR-S following Toyota’s abandonment of the Scion brand.
