Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan (1968)

Publication: Auto Sport
Format: Road Impressions
Date: February 1968
Author: Junji Shirai

A powerful front-wheel drive car with a taste of international rally cars… that’s what the Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan is all about. With 67 horsepower, disc brakes, and radial tires, the front-wheel drive mechanism made it a real force on rough roads and highways.

Sports Version for International Rallies

It was still hot summer. I remember Erik Carlsson, an international rally driver who had come to Japan, driving a Subaru 1000 and saying the following:

“I would like to add 20 more horsepower, strengthen the suspension, and install disc brakes. Do that, and this car will be able to compete on an equal footing in international rallies in Europe.”

As last autumn drew to a close, the long-awaited Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan was released. It had 67 horsepower, 12 more than the standard sedan. Reinforced suspension. Radial tires. Front disc brakes. Although it needed a little more horsepower, this was a sports sedan that was close to the car Carlsson had imagined that could be used in international rallies.

Actually, while I say that it could use a little more horsepower, if it is tuned up as a works car, finding another 10 horsepower should be easy. Recently, international rallies have been contested with Group 5 special touring cars or Group 6 prototypes, so if the Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan were converted to Group 5 spec, it could be fully capable of competing internationally as a competition model.

That’s my conclusion after test driving the Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan.

But let’s start from the beginning. The test vehicle was a “Beach White” Sports Sedan and was a two-door, as are all Sports Sedans. It had a mileage of 3,691km and had just completed the break-in period.

After a brief inspection in the underground parking lot of the Subaru Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo, we headed up to ground level. The Subaru 1000 is known for its quietness, but the Sports Sedan version makes quite a loud noise, and the low, heavy exhaust sound reverberated all around us on the underground rampway, giving us a sense of wildness.

I filled up the tank with fuel and set the trip recorder to zero. The idle speed was stable at about 900 rpm. I found out later that after a hard run, the idle becomes a little rough, and at one point, the needle was swinging unsteadily between 600 and 700 rpm. This is unavoidable to some extent in cars with a SU-type variable venturi carburetor, so it was nothing to worry about.

I should mention that I drive a standard Subaru 1000 as my daily transportation. The first thing I noticed when I sat in the Sport Sedan’s driver seat is that the seat has been improved. It is firm around the edges and soft in the middle, and when you sit down, your body sinks into it slightly, providing the same effect as a bucket seat. Seats are always a problem in grand touring cars, because stable support for sporty driving and a soft reclined position are conflicting design goals. In this respect, the seats in the Subaru 1000 Sport can be given a passing grade.

The dashboard has the same feel as the sedan, but the gauges are different. From the left, there is a speedometer (with trip recorder), a tachometer, and a combination gauge with fuel, water temperature, and various warning lights, all of which are covered by a soft visor and placed in an easy-to-read position. The switches are also the same as in the sedan, and seem to be scattered in random places, but in actual driving, they are surprisingly easy to use.

However, one problem is the “non-reflective” glass of the gauges. Even though it is called non-reflective, this is only because the surface is frosted glass and the light is still reflected dimly. Therefore, there are always bright spots that block your view while driving. This is especially bad when driving with the setting sun behind you. I hope they can do something about this. I think it would be an easy solution if they made the glass more steeply inclined.

Rough Road Strength

In terms of power, the way the 1000 Sports Sedan performed was simply amazing. In fact, the power was so great that it was hard to believe it was a one-liter car. The power was especially outstanding from around 4000rpm upwards, and if I wasn’t careful in low or second gear, the needle would quickly jump into the red zone.

With 67 horsepower and a vehicle weight of 705 kg, the weight per horsepower is about 10.5 kg. This is about the same as a 1.6 liter class sports sedan. By comparison, the weight per horsepower of the Bellett 1600GT is 10.7 kg.

The transmission gear ratios and final gear ratio are exactly the same as those of the normal 1000 sedan, so the top speed increases because the engine’s maximum rotation speed is higher. The catalog lists a top speed of 150km/h, but when a friend of mine took the test car for a drive, he was able to exceed 160km/h, and came back thrilled, saying, “I hit 100mph in a one-liter car!”

The torque curve is not exactly flat. Looking at the manufacturer’s chart, it shows a torque figure of 7kgm at 2200-2300rpm, followed by a slight drop, and then the maximum torque of 8.2kgm at 4600rpm. In other words, there are two torque peaks, and this could be clearly felt while driving. When I let the engine speed drop below 2000rpm in third gear, and then started accelerating to overtake the car ahead, the engine hesitated for a moment, then accelerated rapidly after exceeding 4000rpm, and reached the red zone of 7000rpm all at once. The instruction manual says, “Please do not drive in top gear under 2000rpm.” The same can be said for third gear, and it seems that you should not hesitate to drop to second gear in order to achieve quick overtaking acceleration.

The redline starts at 7000rpm, but if you keep the accelerator pedal pressed, valve surge doesn’t occur until you approach 8000 rpm. When you try to exceed 8000rpm, you finally feel a sudden drop in power.

When it comes to handling behavior, when driving at low speeds in the city, the advantages of the Subaru’s front-wheel-drive layout are hardly noticeable.

I can’t explain why, but whenever I get to the steep curves and slopes of mountain roads, that is when I really feel the advantages of front-wheel drive come into play. This is true of both the tested Sports Sedan and my own 1000 sedan.The steering response is excellent, especially when I’m driving at high speed on a winding gravel road. The Bridgestone radial tires on the test car were inflated to slightly high pressures, 1.9kg/cm² in the front and 1.2kg/cm² in the rear, for highway use, so they bounced around on the gravel road. But the excellent road holding was retained, and the car faithfully maintained the intended line.

However, I have Michelin Xs on my personal 1000, and compared to the test car’s Bridgestones, the Michelin X seems to have an edge. I felt a subtle difference in stability in moments when the front wheels became airborne and returned to the ground with power still applied. The Michelin Xs regain grip the moment they touch the ground, and faithfully point the car in the direction the steering wheel was turned, but the Bridgestone radials (with a tread pattern licensed from Pirelli) loosen up a little when they touch down, causing the car to lose a certain amount of directional stability, which required constant steering corrections on bumpy, winding mountain roads. Most likely, this could be greatly improved with the right tire pressure.

However, the car’s dampers also felt too soft. The diameter of the torsion bar springs is apparently 0.5mm thicker than the standard model, but the dampers are not stiff enough to match, so the excellent road holding was somewhat spoiled by the resulting pitching.

What is particularly noteworthy about front-wheel drive vehicles is that as long as the power is kept applied and the tires do not lose grip on the road, the car will keep moving forward according to the driver’s will. Therefore, the tires for front-wheel drive vehicles must have as much grip as possible. In that sense, it is valuable that the Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan was the first Japanese-made car to come standard with radial tires. Unless you are driving extremely hard, the Bridgestone radial tires will perform more than sufficiently.

It is a common belief that “front-wheel drive cars are weak on uphill slopes.” However, in actual driving, it is much easier to climb steep uphill slopes on rough roads than in rear-wheel drive cars. In particular, for powerful cars, front-wheel drive has the advantage of straight-line stability while climbing. If you delicately handle the clutch engagement and accelerator pedal, the Subaru 1000 Sports Sedan will climb even the steepest slopes, following your intended course. Especially when you think about climbing a muddy slope in a rear-wheel drive car after the frost has melted, you will be grateful for the capability of a powerful front-wheel drive car.

Excellent High-Speed Stability

Besides the damping, the second problem in terms of driving feel is the gear change. A person who enjoys sports driving generally enjoys shifting gears; however, I have some objections to the Subaru 1000 Sport’s gear change. Every time you make a quick shift, there is a loud thumping sound no matter what position you are in. I thought maybe the synchro was weak, but that’s not the case. According to the manufacturer’s explanation, in order to eliminate the vibration of the lever while driving, the lever is fixed to the body and a thick rubber bushing is inserted in the transmission linkage. The sound is caused by the rubber and the pin attached to the linkage moving. So, the feel of the gear change can be called, at best, “Porsche-type,” and at worst, floppy. It is certainly not pleasant to have the shift lever tingling with fine vibrations while driving, but it is hard to call it sporty if it doesn’t “click” into place. I suppose this may be a matter of personal preference, but I would like them to at least do something about the thumping sound.

For those who prefer a more “clicky” feel, there is a short shift kit developed by Subaru dealer Itochu. This one vibrates but makes no noise, and it clicks into place like a British sports car. It costs 38,000 yen including installation, so it may actually become quite popular.

The gear noise that can be a nuisance in the standard Subaru 1000 is well blocked by the Sport’s console box that houses the floor shift mechanism, making it almost inaudible. Or, even if you can hear it, it may be drowned out by the Sports Sedan’s loud exhaust noise…

Having finished driving on the rough roads around Lake Sayama in Saitama Prefecture, we entered the Chuo Expressway (18.1 km between Chofu and Hachioji), which just opened at the end of last year, from Hachioji. As we passed through the gate, we stopped the car and thoroughly checked the tires for pebbles and scratches. On smooth roads, the Bridgestone radials ran extremely smoothly with very little tread noise. Acceleration was absolutely superb, and when pushed to 7000rpm in each gear, the car reached a top speed of 43km/h in first gear, 73km/h in second gear, and 105km/h in third gear. Among 1000cc-class sports sedans, it is one of the fastest cars in the world, and is on par with the NSU 1000TTS.

Stability at high speeds is also outstanding, thanks to the fact that it is a front-wheel drive vehicle and the light unsprung weight of the suspension.

However, there was a lot of wind noise coming from the rain gutters, and when the speed exceeded 120km/h, the door frame started to vibrate.

Braking from high speed is much improved compared to the normal sedan. The front disc brakes are consistent in both effectiveness and pressure even when braking at high speed repeatedly. For a car like this, I would have preferred discs on the rear wheels as well.

In top gear at 100km/h, the rev counter reads 4500rpm, which is just 68% of the maximum power output, meaning you can cruise on the highway without any mechanical or psychological stress. Furthermore, when you step on the accelerator at this speed, the car accelerates as if it were in third gear. However, once the car exceeds 140km/h, the acceleration slows down, and it takes a long straight to reach the maximum speed of 150km/h.

Final Points

The position of the horn button is a minor issue. It is located in the middle of the three-spoke steering wheel, and when you need to sound the horn while holding the gear lever with your left hand, and the steering wheel with your right hand, you don’t have a free hand to press the button. On winding mountain roads, this exact sort of situation happens surprisingly often. I hope they can solve this problem by incorporating the button into the spokes like the Alfa GTV, or by making it a separate switch like the Honda S800.

Another problem I had while driving was the fine adjustment knob for the reclining seat. When I drove out of the city and into the suburbs, I tried to stretch my arm and reach for the adjustment knob, but the space between the knob and the door was too narrow, and I couldn’t turn it even though I could just fit my hand in the gap. This is another thing I’d like to see solved.

Lastly, over 172km of driving, the 1000 Sports Sedan consumed 19.5 liters of fuel, which works out to 9km/l.