Last week we did a short profile on the funky 60s Honda Vamos mid-engined convertible trucklet. But like all other JDM manufacturers of the same era, Subaru also had a range of funky little small-capacity commercial vehicles as well.
Subaru’s version was called the Sambar. The nameplate lives on today in the form of a Kei-class van but the 60s version was quite a cool little miniature version of the VW Kombi.
Like the Kombi, the 1966 Sambar was rear engined. Powered by a 25hp, two-stroke 360cc twin, the Sambar would have made the underpowered 30hp Vamos seem like a Bugatti Veyron.
Say what you like about the 60s kei vans, but they are certainly not short of character…and with a ton of variation in technical specifications too, from the 9000rpm Hondas to the Kombi-esque hippie Sambar, with it’s little whirring two stroke, hidden in a compartment at the back of the chassis.
But the really cool thing about it is…..suicide doors!
The Sambar sounds like it would be painfully slow though!
