50th Anniversary of Subaru Horizontally-Opposed Boxer Engine
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, celebrates the 50th anniversary of its horizontally-opposed “Boxer” engine this year.
Subaru’s signature Boxer engine was first introduced on the Subaru 1000 compact passenger car on May 14, 1966. The origins of the Boxer engine trace their roots back to the early days of Nakajima Aircraft Company; the largest aircraft manufacturer in Asia in its day; today know as Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
Since then, Subaru has pursued to maximize the advantages of its Boxer engines and continuously enhanced them to power its vehicles. Today, every vehicle sold by Subaru in South Africa is fitted with a Boxer engine and its total global production over the past 50 years tops 16 million units.
The Boxer engine is so called because the movement of the engine’s pistons resembles the movement of a boxer’s fists. In a horizontally-opposed design of the Boxer engine, the pistons face each other in a side-to-side symmetrical layout. The opposing pistons work to cancel out the inertia force of each other, resulting in less vibration and superb rotational balance which provide a smooth feel right up to the high rev range. The SUBARU BOXER® engine is positioned in-line with the drivetrain for a maximum transfer of power. Many other engines are transverse, or turned perpendicular, and can require additional drivetrain components to transfer power, reducing vehicle efficiency.
Combining the Boxer engine with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system delivers excellent performance such as stability at high speeds and brisk cornering. Its low profile provides a lower center of gravity than other designs, helping provide quick handling response and flat, confident cornering.
For this reason, Subaru is the only manufacturer in the US with IIHS Top Safety Picks for all models for the last seven years (2010-2016), positioning the brand as the overall safest brand in the US.
Subaru and Porsche remain the only two car manufacturers today who equip vehicles with the Boxer engine.
