Subaru Boxer engine production hits 15 million

(February 19, 2015) Production of Subaru’s horizontally-opposed  "Boxer" engine has reached 15 million units since the engine was first developed 49 years ago. The Boxer engine has become synonymous with Subaru vehicles all over the world, and remains one the hallmarks of a brand which continues to tread its own path when it comes to engineering.

The first Subaru model equipped with a Boxer engine was the Subaru 1000, introduced in 1966 with a horizontally-opposed, water-cooled, four-cylinder aluminum engine. Since then, the engine — famed for its "punch, counterpunch" layout — has powered almost every single Subaru production car sold around the globe.

Subaru’s Boxer engines are renowned for their smooth power delivery and the benefits that are derived from its compact dimensions. Pistons are laid out symmetrically to cancel out the inertia force of each other, resulting in less vibration, greater rotational balance and a smoother, free-revving power delivery than a traditional four-cylinder in-line engine.

The horizontally-opposed design allows the engine to be fitted lower in the engine bay, helping to lower the vehicle’s centre of gravity to improve driving stability and handling performance.

14 million All-Wheel Drive vehicles

Subaru has achieved another significant milestone with the production of its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system, which has now been fitted to over 14 million cars since its introduction in 1972.

First fitted to the Subaru Leone (pictured above), Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD system remains central to the appeal and capabilities of much of its model range, contributing to class-leading stability, predictable handling and driving pleasure.