JDM Traditional Japanese Car Subaru Subaru360

The Subaru 360 is a minicar developed by Fuji Heavy Industries (now SUBARU). It was sold for 12 years from 1958 to 1970.

Subaru 360 appeared in March 1958. The Subaru 360 is a minicar that was developed in response to the promotion policy for passenger cars presented by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The Subaru 360 was a four-seater, rear-wheel drive vehicle with an air-cooled 2-stroke 2-cylinder engine mounted on the rear in consideration of space efficiency.

The origin of the name is that the Subaru 1500 is the name of the passenger car that Fuji Heavy Industries first prototyped, and the displacement of the EK31 type engine installed was 360cc, so it was named Subaru 360. In addition, it was popularly known as "Ladybug" due to its compact and cute design.

The design was a fastback style 2-door 4-window sedan without a rear deck, similar to the Beetle. It was also the first passenger car in the Japanese automobile industry to realize a full monocoque structure without a frame in a mass-produced car.

The monocoque structure is a technology that is used not only in automobiles but also in aircraft. It has the advantage of being a frameless structure in which the frame and body are integrated, which allows for a wider space and lighter weight. Subaru, whose predecessor was an aircraft manufacturer called Nakajima Airplane, reflected its technology in automobiles.

The powertrain was equipped with a forced air-cooled 2-cycle 2-cylinder engine with a displacement of 356cc, and the maximum output was only 18PS. The drive system was rear-wheel drive, and the transmission was a 3-speed MT. The vehicle weight was as light as 385kg.

Inside the car, everything was stripped down to save weight and cost. This design was the intention of the development team, who made use of their experience in aircraft development to make it as lightweight as possible.

The instruments were equipped only with a speedometer placed on the steering post and a cumulative distance meter inside it, and a minimal number of switches were provided on the front of the thin "dashboard". In addition, under the dashboard, a tray that spans the entire width of the vehicle was installed to provide space for luggage.

In 1968, the sports model Young SS appeared. Compared to the 360, the Young SS has a higher maximum output of 36PS, so the maximum speed was 120km/h compared to the 360's 80km/h. The car body was designed with a low overall height and had a sporty design.

In 1969, the successor car "Subaru R-2" was released and sold together for a while, but unfortunately production and sales ended in May 1970.