1998 Subaru Sambar#BUC72849

This 1998 Subaru Sambar is a Japanese domestic-market vehicle we imported and are selling directly, finished in Beige. Drive on this Sambar is four-wheel drive. We have it on file as stock number pZYwYQ, chassis KS4374612. 17 photographs of this specific vehicle are on this listing.

1998 Subaru Sambar: engine, gearbox and running gear

It runs a 660cc engine. Drive reaches the road through a manual gearbox, four-wheel drive.

1998 Subaru Sambar: the background

Enthusiasts nicknamed the rear-engined Sambar the "agricultural Porsche", and the joke does real work: rear engine, rear drive, four cylinders, independent suspension all round. Putting the engine under the bed was a deliberate load-carrying decision: on a kei truck the difference between empty and laden is enormous, and the engine acts as ballast over the driven axle when the bed is empty. Putting the engine behind the rear axle loads the driven wheels, and that is a large part of why Sambars have the traction reputation they do. Japan's Akabou courier cooperative ran Sambars almost exclusively for three decades, on a factory type-approved version with its own valves, pistons, rods and crankshaft built to cover 200,000 kilometres of courier work — a fair indication of what the platform tolerates.

Recorded condition of this 1998 Sambar

A 1998 vehicle showing 64,000 mi, recorded with a condition of used. Interior colour is recorded as Grey. Fuel type on file is Gasoline.

Where a Sambar earns its keep

Farms, vineyards, ranches, grounds crews and building sites are where Sambars end up in the US, for the same reasons they ended up there in Japan — Japanese sources describe the kei truck as a necessity for moving tools, crops and catch. What you see is what we have: a Beige Sambar on our lot, not a listing for a vehicle still in an auction hall. The asking price is $8,064.