Body Forester Kit Subaru

The Subaru Leone was a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word "leone" is Italian for lion.

It was released as a replacement to the Subaru 1000 and was the predecessor to the Subaru Impreza. All Leones were powered by the Subaru EA boxer engine. Most cars were equipped with optional four-wheel drive.

Although released in Japan and some export markets as the Leone, for many years, this was the only vehicle sold internationally by Subaru where the smaller kei cars Rex, Vivio, R-2, 360 and Sambar were not sold or considered road legal. As a result in major markets such as Australia, Europe and North America, it was instead identified with a trim level designation, some of which included: DL, GL, GLF, GLF5, GL-10, and RX. This means the car is often referred to simply as the Subaru GL or the Subaru L-Series .

1st generation

The first generation of the Leone was released October 7, 1971 as a front-wheel drive coupé, with trim levels DL, GL, and in Japan, the GS, and the GSR. April 1972 saw the introduction of the 2- and 4-door sedan with trim levels DL, GL and in Japan, the Super Touring. In September 1972, the four-wheel drive (4WD) station wagon was released, however it did not appear in the United States until 1974. Until then, four-wheel drive had been limited to mainly off-road vehicles for special use. Subaru broke that pattern by introducing a mass-produced four-wheel drive passenger car. Throughout the years, the Leone would see the introduction of a two-door hardtop, a four-door sedan, and a four-wheel drive station wagon. The Leone competed with the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sunny, Honda Civic, and the Mitsubishi Lancer.

In August 1968, Subaru entered into an alliance with Nissan Motors, and the appearance of the new Leone was influenced by design efforts from Nissan, most notably the long hood and short trunk appearance that Nissan was using at the time for their products. This styling characteristic allowed Subaru to install the engine in front of the transmission and made the implementation of AWD practical. The Japan-spec 1400 GSR was one of the first Japanese automobiles to use 4 wheel disc brakes. The 2-door hardtop was introduced June 1973. This vehicle introduced a long established Subaru tradition of manufacturing frameless side windows on both the front and rear doors.

The first-generation Leones were equipped with either a 1.4 L or 1.6 L, flat-4, carbureted, OHV engine. They were available with a 4-speed manual transmission, 5-speed manual transmission or a 3-speed automatic transmission beginning in 1975. Some early models had drum brakes in the front, however later they were all equipped with disc brakes in the front. All models had rear drum brakes. Unusually the handbrake or emergency brake operated on the front wheels.

The Leone was first brought to the United States of America in 1972. The 4WD station wagon did not make it to the U.S. until 1974, released as a 1975 model. In 1976 the EA63 engine was replaced with the EA71 engine, which was optional the year before in the GF hardtop.

In April 1977 an updated Leone range was released. All body panels were altered slightly and a completely new dashboard was fitted. Despite these changes, however, the overall effect was much the same as the earlier version and virtually mechanically identical.

1977 also saw the introduction of the Subaru BRAT, which was based on the Leone platform, a two-seater with a pickup truck bed.


2nd generation

In June 1979 the Leone saw its first complete model update. This generation was released with offerings in a two-door coupe, four-door sedan, station wagon, as well as a three-door hatchback. This generation of the Leone was not released to the United States until 1980. Subaru was first introduced to Europe in 1980.

New to this generation included a four-speed 4WD transmission with both high- and low-range gearing. 4WD automatic transmissions were also now offered, allowing the driver to engage 4WD with a simple push of a button. November 1981, Subaru introduced Japan's first all-wheel-drive vehicle with an automatic transmission, utilizing the world's first "wet hydraulic multi-plate clutch" known as MP-T, which helped improve drivability over traditional four-wheel-drive systems.

The new 1.8 L EA81 engine was added in 1980. In November 1982, a turbocharger with multi-port fuel injection option was also added on BRAT and Turbo Wagon models. It was only available with an automatic transmission and 3.70:1 gearing. In Japan the top-spec 1800 GTS sedan was the first Subaru to offer air conditioning, power windows, and power steering.

The 2nd generation hatchback and BRAT were made alongside the 3rd generation offerings until 1987 for the BRAT, and 1989 for the hatchback. All other 2nd generation models were discontinued by 1985.

In the USA, uplevel trim level vehicles could be identified by having four headlights installed in the grille, whereas economy models had two headlights.

Subaru BRAT

Main article: Subaru BRAT

The Subaru BRAT (an acronym for B i-drive R ecreational A ll-terrain T ransporter) was a pickup version of the Subaru Leone introduced in 1977. The BRAT was developed directly from the company's four-wheel drive station wagon model and was first introduced as a 1978 model — following the concept of the Chevrolet El Camino and the Ford Ranchero,

American versions also had carpeting and welded-in rear-facing jumpseats in the cargo area — serving actually to circumvent a tariff known as the Chicken tax. Although the BRAT could fairly be called a truck, the plastic seats in the cargo bed allowed Subaru to classify the BRAT as a passenger car. Passenger cars imported into the US were charged only a 2.5% tariff, compared to 25% on light trucks.

The BRAT was restyled in 1981 and the jumpseats were discontinued after the 1985 model year. The BRAT was introduced with a rise in popularity of small trucks being sold in the USA, primarily from Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda. Production continued into 1993 but ceased to be imported to North America in 1987. It was also known as the Brumby in Australia and the Shifter in the UK. Imports to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand continued until February 1994. The BRAT wasn't sold in Japan and was manufactured for export markets.

All BRATs had four-wheel drive and the Subaru EA engine. Early models received a 1.6L EA-71 whereas 1981 and later models received a 1.8 L EA-81 engine. 1983 and 1984 models could be purchased with an optional 94 hp (70 kW) turbocharged engine. Manual transmissions were standard on all models and an automatic transmission was available on turbocharged BRATs. 1980 and earlier models had a single-range transfer case, while 1981 and later GL models had a dual range transfer case (DLs still had single range) and all turbocharged models were equipped with an automatic transmission with single range push-button four-wheel drive.

In 2003, Subaru tried this approach again but with four doors on the second generation Subaru Outback platform called the Subaru Baja.

3rd generation

On July 16, 1984, the Leone saw its second major redesign. This generation was released with offerings in a three-door coupe hatchback and four-door sedan RX-II, as well as a continuation of the popular station wagon body style. This generation of the Leone made its way to the United States in 1985.

In Europe, the range was 1.6 DL, 1.6 GL, 1.8 DL and 1.8 GL 4WD. The sedan versions were offered up until 1992, then the range was reduced to wagons only in 1993. The 1.8-litre versions were phased out in 1991.

In North America, the 1.6 L engine was dropped completely from the lineup, due to its lack of power.

A new 1.8 L SOHC engine, EA-82 was offered instead of the OHV 1.8 L Flat-4 engine. The engine was available with a carburetor, single point fuel injection, multi-port fuel injection, or multi-port fuel injection with a turbocharger for fuel delivery.

Later models in the generation saw the option of a full-time 4WD manual transmission as well as a full-time 4WD four-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission.

RX 3-door Hatchback is a rarity and very few remain operational today. It can be recognized as well as

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