1969 SUBARU R2 0.4L 4MT (31 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Long before the Subaru was known for its symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, the Japanese carmaker built an affordable and fuel-efficient city vehicle: the R-2.

In 1969, Subaru was a small carmaker that offered a product to fill the commuter car’s needs. Something easy to keep on the road, light on the budget, and easy to park. The R-2 was what people from many countries were looking for. While in Europe was a big offer from the French and Italian carmakers, and the Beetle was still on the assembly lines, the offer was smaller on the Japanese market. As a result, in just one month after the R2 launch, Subaru received over 25.000 orders.

Like in later days, Subaru didn’t worry too much about the exterior car design. They just installed two, round, headlights on a bubble-car with a short front end, and that was it. Getting in and out of the car via the two-doors was easy. Due to the bubble-shaped roofline, the car offered decent headroom in the rear, somehow like a Fiat 600 on the European market. Subaru offered two versions for the instrument cluster: one with two dials and the other with three dials, including a tachometer.

Subaru designed the car to be as cost-effective as possible. To achieve that, it took the VW Beetle idea and installed an air-cooled engine in the back. Due to its small displacement, it was considered a kei-car, making it more affordable and faced lower taxes in Japan. Later on, after 1972, due to stricter pollution norms, the R2 switched to water-cooled engines.