1997 Subaru Sambar Van#BUC34577

Our stock includes this 1997 Subaru Sambar Van, finished in Gray — a right-hand-drive Japanese import.

Background: the Sambar Van

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. Subaru's rocker covers carry a cast "CLOVER4" badge with a four-leaf clover — a nod to the four-cylinder layout the company built its kei reputation on. Subaru gave the Sambar four-wheel independent suspension from the very first 1961 model, at a time when Japanese passenger cars mostly did without it — struts at the front, semi-trailing arms at the rear.

The numbers on this Sambar Van

On the paperwork it measures 330cm × 140cm × 190cm. It is on file with a kerb weight of 890kg, a rated load capacity of 200kg and 8.77m³ of measured cargo volume. Registration on this Sambar Van records 4 seats and a body type of Kei van, Vans. Carrying 200kg on a 890kg kerb weight is the kind of ratio that only comes from designing the whole vehicle around the load.

The mechanical side of this Sambar Van

Under it is the EN07, a 660cc engine. Sending drive forward from a rear-mounted EN07 gave Subaru a four-wheel-drive layout unlike anything else in the class. Gearbox on this Sambar Van is a 5-speed manual gearbox, driving four-wheel drive.

1997 Subaru Sambar Van: recorded details

It shows 89200 km on the clock, with a condition of used on file.

What a Sambar Van is good for

Four-wheel drive in a van body is an unusual combination outside Japan, and it is the reason these get used well past the end of the pavement. At 29 years old, this 1997 Sambar Van is outside the window where federal safety-standard conformity applies to an import.