Buy Subaru Sambar in USA

japanese cars model: Sambar

The Subaru Sambar is a cabover kei truck and microvan (passenger variant: Subaru Dias Wagon) manufactured by Subaru, a division of Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), specifically for the Japanese market. It is Japan’s first Keitora (軽トラ), shorthand for “kei class truck” and is still in production. The Sambar is available in both microvan and Kei truck (Pickup truck style) to fulfill the Kei car guidelines. Still popular in the domestic market, Subaru no longer produces the Sambar themselves as the nameplate has been used on a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet since 2012. The Sambar has also been produced in China as the [三八] as well as in Finland in a joint venture with Elcat Automotive.

Since its introduction in 1961, the Sambar has used a rear engine, rear wheel drive format (with optional 4WD from 1980 on), with the first two generations using the air-cooled engine from the Subaru 360, and later generations using the water-cooled engine from the Subaru Rex, Vivio and the Pleo. It was the first Kei truck that used a cabover design, with the passenger cabin over the engine.

Until 2012 the Sambar model was still using Subaru’s own sixth generation chassis and body with updated fascia. The current generation is a rebadged version of the Daihatsu Hijet/Atrai. The Sambar was the last rear-engined, rear-wheel drive kei vehicle and was also unusual in using a separate chassis rather than a unibody design.

The name Sambar is very similar to the top trim package for the Volkswagen Type 2 called the Samba introduced in 1951, which also used an air-cooled engine installed in the back, utilizing rear-wheel-drive, and was available in pickup configurations with fold-down beds.