The Subaru R2 is a

kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...

produced and sold in Japan by

Fuji Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

from 2003 to 2010. Its name was inspired by the

Subaru R-2 The Subaru R-2 is a kei car manufactured by Subaru from 1969 to 1972. The R-2 was a full model change of the popular Subaru 360, but with an updated appearance and increased interior space. The R-2 appeared approximately one year before the Hon ...

, produced from 1969 to 1972. The R2 was discontinued in 2010.

Design

The R2 was the first production

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

to sport a new family look, including the aviation-inspired "spread wings grille" also used by their

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stre ...

and

Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Subaru Leone, Leone, with the predecessor's Subaru EA engine, EA series engines replaced by the new Subaru EJ ...

. The R2's exterior dimensions are largely similar to its predecessor, the

Subaru Pleo The Subaru Pleo is a kei car made by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1998. The Pleo is taller than conventional kei car hatchbacks, but shorter than the definitive microvan, the Suzuki Wagon R, and is available with a variety of 658&nbs ...

; but unlike the squarish Pleo, the R2 has a deliberately rounded, less space-efficient form. Three variations of the 4-cylinder 658 cc engine were available: * SOHC * DOHC AVCS (

variable valve timing In internal combustion engines, variable valve timing (VVT) is the process of altering the timing of a valve lift event, and is often used to improve performance, fuel economy or emissions. It is increasingly being used in combination with varia ...

) * DOHC with

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

and

intercooler An intercooler is a heat exchanger used to cool a gas after compression. Often found in turbocharged engines, intercoolers are also used in air compressors, air conditioners, refrigeration and gas turbines. Internal combustion engines Mo ...

(R2 STi) Unlike other Subaru models which used

Boxer engine A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, ...

s, the R2 used an inline engine. The two lower engine options were available with either a manual transmission or a CVT. The supercharged engine was coupled to a sportshift version of the CVT ("7 speed iCVT"). Both

front wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional lon ...

and

all wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

were available. Initially, the R2 was available in 11 colors and 3 trim levels (one for each engine variation). On January 4, 2005, the Subaru R1 was introduced, which was a 2-door version of the R2 with a shorter body and wheelbase. In 2006, the R2 got a facelift, replacing its spread wings grille with one similar to the

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sold ...

In popular culture

The Subaru R2 is a playable secret car in the videogame

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune is a Japanese racing manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki. It was first serialized in Shogakukan's ''Big Comic Spirits'' in 1990, but was later serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1992 to 2008. The ...

References

{{Subaru R2 Kei cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles Vehicles with CVT transmission 2010s cars Cars introduced in 2003