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It's Sambar time!
Letter from SWRT
17 February 2006
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It's quite easy to overlook the compact Subaru Sambar van in the Subaru World Rally Team service area. At just over 3360mm long, 1480mm wide and 1900mm high it's shorter than a fully-grown horse and smaller than an average dining room table. In Japan, the tiny Sambar is known as a 'Kei' car, a vehicle built according to strict size limits specified by the Japanese government. In simple terms, Kei cars feature a small engine in a small body.
Engine capacity is limited to 660cc and 64bhp and the overall area should be smaller and narrower than a regular car. Sold only in the Japanese market, the Sambar's tiny stature is perfect for the narrow, congested streets of congested cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Nevertheless don't be fooled by the tiny stature - this is a car that can more than hold its weight, as Subaru technicians have found out for themselves.
Since Rally Sardinia-Italia 2005, SWRT tyre technicians have used the Sambar to ferry tyres back and forth between the Subaru service area and the Pirelli tyre trucks. With the rear seats folded flat it can carry up to 20 wheels and tyres. At approximately 25kg each, that's over 500kg per trip. Not bad for a car that weighs just over 1000kg.
The SWRT Sambar is painted in exactly the same colour as the rally cars and is used on every European WRC event. It's in good company when it's transported to events too. It travels on a trailer along with the Legacy STI management shuttle and the B9 Tribeca, the latest addition to the Subaru World Rally Team fleet.
Of all the SWRT event staff, tyre technician Tore Dahl spends the most time behind the wheel of the Sambar: "It's a great little vehicle for doing what we want. The All-Wheel Drive makes it very easy to manage, even when fully loaded, and the engine is powerful enough to go quickly from one end of the service park to another. It's great fun to drive too."
As you'll see from the photos the Sambar was especially useful in Sweden, where the temperature dropped as low as -18ºC. "It's got air conditioning which is a real plus in the hot rallies like Greece," said Tore. "But in the snow I was very grateful for the powerful heater, I didn't really want to get out of the cab - it's not a bad little office!"
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2006
2005
