50 Years Of Subaru's Flat-Four Engine
While pretty much every manufacturer builds some sort of four-cylinder engine, Subaru's have an interesting particularity: instead of being arranged one next to the other, each cylinder is laid horizontally in the chassis; two of them are pointing toward the left front wheel, the other two are in the opposite direction. The crankshaft sits in the middle of the engine bay.
So what is the advantage of this layout? This engine has a very low centre of gravity, much lower than a V or inline powerplant. In the little Subaru BRZ for example, the flat-four engine enables engineers to design a very low hood, which helps weight distribution.
This year, Subaru is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its engine: in 1966, a little car called the Subaru 1000 was unveiled. Under its tiny hood sat a liquid-cooled flat-four developing... 54 horsepower. While this output seems ridiculous by today's standards, this powerplant would go on to be a staple of Subaru's products... Although the 1000 was FWD; nowadays, Subarus are all-wheel drive.
The manufacturer has no plans to get rid of their particular drivetrain anytime soon: this is a good thing, since the WRX and STI's particular sound is now part of the performance world.