The Subaru Boxer… an award-winning pedigree!

For those of you who didn’t know, Subaru’s engine of choice for their cars has long been the flat-4 cylinder, “Boxer”.  This engine has been used in the early ‘L’ model all the way through the new 2011 STi.  It’s proven itself time and time again as being a very capable powerplant.  In fact, in 2008, the 2.5 liter, turbo model was named the “International Engine of the Year”.  Boasting impressive torque / horsepower, coupled with excellent reliability it continues to prove itself a worthy contender.

“Subdriven magazine” has more on the story:

Cherry Hill, NJ, May 8, 2008 — Subaru’s 2.5-liter Boxer turbo engine has won the 2008 International Engine of the Year award in the 2.0-liter to 2.5-liter category.

“This is a testament to the unique design qualities of our Boxer engine,” said Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Subaru of America, Inc. “Subaru has been producing Boxer engines for over 40 years and we are delighted to once again be recognized by the International Engine of the Year Awards committee.”

Juror, Christophe Congrega of L’Automobile Magazine, stated that the Subaru engine is: “A 2.5-liter Boxer full of torque and power.” This statement is backed up by the fact that Subaru’s Boxer engine beat BMW’s 2.5-liter 6 cylinder engine twice in its category for the International Engine of the Year Award in the last three years.

The 65 judges on the International Engine of the Year Awards 2008 committee were impressed with the Subaru Boxer engine’s power in the 4 cylinder 305 hp Subaru Impreza WRX STI, but were equally impressed with the performance of the 2.5-liter turbo in the 224 hp Subaru Forester. The engine is also found in the 224 hp Subaru WRX and in naturally aspirated form in the 170 hp 2.5i Subaru Impreza and Subaru Forester. The jury noted that aside from being a performance powerhouse, the Subaru Boxer engine offers impressive fuel economy.

As judge Nikos Kounitis stated, “This powerful, fun-to-drive engine justifies Subaru’s persistence in Boxer engines.”

The Subaru Boxer engine is produced in several forms for world markets including 4 cylinder engines in 1.5-liter, 2.0-liter, 2.5-liter capacity and also 6 cylinder 3.0-liter and 3.6-liter versions. Additionally, the Company recently introduced the world’s first Boxer diesel engine for sale in Europe.