Production of Subaru’s horizontally-opposed ‘Boxer’ engine has reached 15 million units since the engine was first developed 49 years ago. As hardcore Subaru enthusiasts know, the Boxer engine has become synonymous with Subaru models over the world.
The first Subaru to be equipped with a Boxer engine was the 1000, introduced in 1966 with a horizontally-opposed, water-cooled, 4-cylinder aluminium engine. Since then, the engine – famed for its ‘punch, counterpunch’ layout – has powered almost every single Subaru production car sold around the globe.
The latest iteration of the Boxer layout can be found in the new Outback which houses a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine and a 2-litre turbo diesel. Meanwhile, our current favourite Subaru to come with a Boxer engine remains the 2-door BRZ sports car. Featuring a 200bhp, 2-litre 4-cylinder engine, the BRZ is known for its lively performance thanks to its stiff chassis and rear-wheel drive layout.
