The 2015 FB25 Boxer engine in Subaru’s Outback and Legacy
Fuji Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, has announced that total cumulative production of Subaru’s horizontally opposed Boxer engines has reached 15 million units. The milestone comes 49 years after FHI developed the horizontally opposed, water-cooled, four-cylinder aluminum engine and adopted it in the Subaru 1000 in May 1966.
The EA52 Boxer engine, introduced in 1966’s Subaru 1000
In a horizontally-opposed design of Subaru’s Boxer engine, the pistons face each other in a side-to-side symmetrical layout and the opposing pistons work to cancel out the inertia force of each other, resulting in less vibration, improved rotational balance and a smooth feel right up to the high rev range. The engine’s flat, low profile also helps to lower the vehicle’s center of gravity, enhancing driving stability and handling performance. Over a long period of time, Subaru has committed to maximizing the advantages of its Boxer engines and continued to enhance them to power its vehicles.
The Subaru 1000
The OEM also marked another significant milestone last month, when it produced the 14 millionth unit of its All-Wheel Drive system, which was first featured in the Subaru Leone 4WD Estate van launched in September 1972. Subaru’s symmetrical AWD system is one of the core technologies to underpin Subaru’s commitment to safety and driving pleasure, providing stability at high speeds as well as brisk cornering. The synergy of driving stability and drivability, Subaru believes, is intrinsic to AWD, and the balanced distribution of weight realized by the symmetrically laid-out drivetrain with a longitudinally-mounted Boxer engine is key.
Subaru’s Leone 4WD Estate