Before Subaru's four-wheel-drive wagons became a household feature, the company tested the whole idea on a tiny limited run of this 4WD wagon in 1971 — the trial run for everything that followed.
Lead trim: FF-1 G 4WD Wagon 1.3 flat-four
Subaru FF-1 G 4WD Wagon1971–1971
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Subaru FF-1 G 4WD Wagon yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactBefore Subaru's four-wheel-drive wagons became a household feature, the company tested the whole idea on a tiny limited run of this 4WD wagon in 1971 — the trial run for everything that followed.
In 1970 a Japanese Subaru dealership received a special order from the Tohoku Electric Power Company for an all-weather 4WD vehicle to replace 30-year-old open jeeps that could not seal out the cold or heat adequately: Subaru added a driveshaft to the back of the transmission, a rear differential (borrowed from a 510-series Nissan Bluebird in the March 1971 prototypes) and a transfer case with its own shift lever so the 4WD could be disengaged, and displayed the 1300G next to a 4WD station wagon on a mirror at the 18th Tokyo Motor Show on 29 October 1971, with 20 mm more ground clearance. Subaru built eight 4WD wagons — Tohoku Electric bought five and three went to the Village of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture for agricultural use — and in 2008 one of the originals was found, restored and is shown at events in Japan.
Collectors Spotted in the Subaru FF-1 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Subaru FF-1 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FF-1 G 4WD Wagon 1.3 flat-four | 1971–1971 | 1.3 L Flat-4 | — | — | — | 4WD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Before Subaru's four-wheel-drive wagons became a household feature, the company tested the whole idea on a tiny limited run of this 4WD wagon in 1971 — the trial run for everything that followed.
The FF-1 1300G's 1.3-litre engine is the only engine Subaru ever built with rear-facing exhaust ports — a one-model quirk that never returned.
The hot 1.3 engine in the Super Touring/Sports version is the only Subaru engine ever built with its exhaust ports facing backward.
The FF-1's engine ran on a clever dual-radiator trick: a small radiator doubling as the heater core got it to temperature fast, then a thermostat brought the main radiator online for quieter running.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
Cooling the C6 RS6’s twin-turbo V10 took seven separate radiators and four electric fans under the bonnet.
The original RS6 debuted Audi's clever hydraulic Dynamic Ride Control suspension — and enough owners got tired of its leaking dampers that they ripped the whole system out for plain coilovers.
The C7-generation RS6 Avant never officially reached America at all — buyers there got the RS7 Sportback instead, running the exact same engine and platform in a different body.
For a few years, this Outback's six-cylinder trim came with genuine McIntosh audio — the same esteemed hi-fi name found in home theaters, one of the only cars ever to get it from the factory.
Subaru didn't have the budget for an all-new SUV, so it dressed up a Legacy wagon instead. A Subaru of America executive later put it bluntly: "[the Outback] saved our company."
The new Outback's full-width tail light bar has a 2 ft ruler built in, for measuring whatever you are about to load.
This Outback shared Top Gear's Car of the Year crown — an unusual honor for a jacked-up wagon to split with the Ford Mondeo in 2007.
A wagon beat the SUVs at their own game: this Outback generation won Motor Trend's Sport/Utility of the Year award for 2010.