Subaru's All-Wheel Drive system celebrates its 50th anniversary

Subaru’s All-Wheel Drive system celebrates its 50th anniversary this September. Since the introduction of the Subaru Leone 4WD Estate Van, the first mass-produced AWD passenger car in Japan in September 1972, the company has produced around 21 million AWD vehicles to date. AWD models currently account for 98% of Subaru’s global sales, and all of these models feature the Subaru Symmetrical AWD system, equipped with the horizontally opposed boxer engine.

The most distinctive feature of Subaru’s Symmetrical AWD is a symmetrically designed drivetrain combined with a longitudinally mounted boxer engine positioned in line with it. The combination of the low centre of gravity provided by the engine and the superior weight balance of the symmetrical drivetrain maximises stability and the traction inherent in four-wheel drive, delivering excellent driving performance across a variety of weather and road conditions.

Subaru’s AWD technology continues to evolve in electrified vehicles as well. In models equipped with the e-Boxer engine, the highly responsive powertrain allows more precise control of the AWD system, offering greater confidence on slippery surfaces, snow or ice, as well as enhanced drivability on uneven roads.

To another 50 years

The AWD system adopted in the new electric SUV Solterra was developed by drawing on the experience gained from the company’s AWD research and development initiative launched in 2005, with the aim of delivering the safe driving and driving pleasure characteristic of Subaru.

Tomomi Nakamura, President and CEO of Subaru Corporation, has stated that “as one of the core technologies underpinning Subaru’s commitment to safety and driving pleasure, Subaru’s AWD has been continuously improved over half a century.”

“Toward the era of electrification, we will further refine the technology we have cultivated over a long time and continue to pursue improvements in stability, driving dynamics and handling.”