Not to be confused with the newer Subaru R2, that was introduced in 2003.
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 Honda Life, Daihatsu Fellow Max and Suzuki Fronte kei cars, however, it continued to use the powertrain setup from the Subaru 360, which was the EK33 air-cooled 2-cylinder engine installed in the back, which is the inspiration for the name of the vehicle. It appeared around the same time as the second generation Mitsubishi Minica.
When the car was introduced February 8, 1969, Subaru took 25,000 orders for the car in one month. Sales began in August of that year.[1]
In the early 1970s, the Japanese government enacted legislation to reduce emissions, which prompted Subaru and other manufacturers to upgrade engines that were air-cooled and using a two-stroke engine implementation, shared with the Subaru Sambar. On October 7, 1971, the Subaru engine was upgraded to a two-stroke water-cooled engine, called the EK34 series engine, but the retrofit was hastily done, and was better achieved with the new 1972 Subaru Rex, which was available with both 2- and 4-doors. A styling upgrade was accomplished on the water-cooled R-2, adding a faux grille to the front of the vehicle that had no function other than a more modern appearance, as well as a corporate identity to the all new compact Subaru Leone.
Subaru continued with a rear engine platform so as to afford more trunk space up front and provide seating for four passengers, whereas competitors offered front engine front wheel drive vehicles to reduce noise intrusion from the engine and offer rear seats that folded down for increased cargo capacity, albeit with fewer passengers. In response to the rising popularity of front wheel drive front engine alternatives, Subaru offered a utilitarian hatchback bodystyle (marketed as a Van) from 16 February 1970. Instead of the 31 PS (23 kW) of the sedan, the lower tuned Van has 26 PS (19 kW). The sedan carries the K12 model code, with the Van being the K41.[1]
Performance versions of the R-2 came April 18, 1970, in the form of the R-2 SS with a dual exhaust and an increase in the compression ratio from 3.8 kg⋅m (37 N⋅m; 27 lb⋅ft) at 6400 rpm to 7.5 kg⋅m (74 N⋅m; 54 lb⋅ft) at 7000 rpm, and a higher trim level called the R-2 GL arrived on 5 October. Another contributor to the early cancellation of the R-2 was its handling characteristics, which were found to be not as stable as vehicles that were front engine, front wheel drive.[2]
Subaru would launch a spiritual successor to the R-2 in 2003, called the Subaru R2.
^ abスバル Ｒ－２（発売時期 １９６９年８月～） [Subaru R-2 (on sale from August 1969)] (PDF) (in Japanese), Fuji Heavy Industries, retrieved 2015-01-24
^"Article 63 of the Special Committee for Traffic Safety" (in Japanese). Kokkai.ndl.go.jp. 1970-09-09. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
External linksedit
1969 Subaru R-2 Deluxe Brochure
History of Subaru Kei Jidosha
January 01, 1970
subaru, confused, with, newer, subaru, that, introduced, 2003, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news,. Not to be confused with the newer Subaru R2 that was introduced in 2003 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Subaru R 2 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message 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 Honda Life Daihatsu Fellow Max and Suzuki Fronte kei cars however it continued to use the powertrain setup from the Subaru 360 which was the EK33 air cooled 2 cylinder engine installed in the back which is the inspiration for the name of the vehicle It appeared around the same time as the second generation Mitsubishi Minica Subaru R 21970 Subaru R 2 early air cooled engine OverviewManufacturerSubaruProduction1969 1972AssemblySubaru chō Plant Ōta Gunma JapanBody and chassisClassCity car Kei carBody style2 door sedan3 door vanLayoutRear engine Rear wheel drivePowertrainEngine356 cc EK33 air cooled I2358 cc EK34 water cooled I2DimensionsWheelbase1 920 mm 76 in Length2 995 mm 117 9 in Width1 295 mm 51 0 in Height1 345 mm 53 0 in Curb weight430 kg 950 lb ChronologyPredecessorSubaru 360SuccessorSubaru Rex 1972 Subaru R 2 late version with water cooled engine Contents 1 History 2 Cultural references 3 References 4 External linksHistory editWhen the car was introduced February 8 1969 Subaru took 25 000 orders for the car in one month Sales began in August of that year 1 In the early 1970s the Japanese government enacted legislation to reduce emissions which prompted Subaru and other manufacturers to upgrade engines that were air cooled and using a two stroke engine implementation shared with the Subaru Sambar On October 7 1971 the Subaru engine was upgraded to a two stroke water cooled engine called the EK34 series engine but the retrofit was hastily done and was better achieved with the new 1972 Subaru Rex which was available with both 2 and 4 doors A styling upgrade was accomplished on the water cooled R 2 adding a faux grille to the front of the vehicle that had no function other than a more modern appearance as well as a corporate identity to the all new compact Subaru Leone Subaru continued with a rear engine platform so as to afford more trunk space up front and provide seating for four passengers whereas competitors offered front engine front wheel drive vehicles to reduce noise intrusion from the engine and offer rear seats that folded down for increased cargo capacity albeit with fewer passengers In response to the rising popularity of front wheel drive front engine alternatives Subaru offered a utilitarian hatchback bodystyle marketed as a Van from 16 February 1970 Instead of the 31 PS 23 kW of the sedan the lower tuned Van has 26 PS 19 kW The sedan carries the K12 model code with the Van being the K41 1 Performance versions of the R 2 came April 18 1970 in the form of the R 2 SS with a dual exhaust and an increase in the compression ratio from 3 8 kg m 37 N m 27 lb ft at 6400 rpm to 7 5 kg m 74 N m 54 lb ft at 7000 rpm and a higher trim level called the R 2 GL arrived on 5 October Another contributor to the early cancellation of the R 2 was its handling characteristics which were found to be not as stable as vehicles that were front engine front wheel drive 2 Subaru would launch a spiritual successor to the R 2 in 2003 called the Subaru R2 Cultural references editThe Subaru R 2 was driven by Natsumi Tsujimoto a fictional anime character and one of the main protagonists in the You re Under Arrest franchise This particular car model is also being prominently used by the character Toshio in the Ghibli studio s animated adaptation of the manga Only Yesterday References edit a b スバル Ｒ ２ 発売時期 １９６９年８月 Subaru R 2 on sale from August 1969 PDF in Japanese Fuji Heavy Industries retrieved 2015 01 24 Article 63 of the Special Committee for Traffic Safety in Japanese Kokkai ndl go jp 1970 09 09 Retrieved 2010 11 28 External links edit1969 Subaru R 2 Deluxe Brochure History of Subaru Kei Jidosha Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Subaru R 2 amp oldid 1150207417, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
