(Wed 21 May 08)

Subaru is well known for its exploits in the World Rally Championship, but this is something very different. You'll remember that in an earlier news story we reported on the forthcoming re-run of the 1958 Liège-Brescia-Liège rally for car with engines under 500cc. A Fiat 500 won the original event, and there will be plenty of those in action this year, but there will also be two Subarus.

They are examples of the 20bhp 360cc microcar which, like the rally, also happens to be celebrating its half-century this year. The 360 was never imported into Europe but it stayed in production for 12 years, and was actually sold (difficult though this may be to believe) in the United States. It was also the first Subaru to use the six-star badge, an updated version of which is still being used to day.

One of the 360s being used on the Liège-Brescia-Liège event is being crewed by James Ewing and Jane Puttock, the other by Victor Sayer and Craig Lawson. Both cars date from the late 1960s, so they are not eligible for the main award, but the team hopes that one of them will win the Spirit 400 class for newer models, and that Jane will take home the Ladies Prize.

Jane takes the blame for starting all this: "I saw a picture of a Subaru 360 in a Dutch magazine a few years ago and said to James I would love one of those. He managed to locate and import one from Japan with a second as spares. However, when we opened the container, both were better than expected and, with a little work, we were soon buzzing around in them and having great fun such as taking part in the Goodwood Revival."

The rally takes place from July 11-20, and as well as the Subarus and a swarm of Fiats there will also be examples of the Messerschmitt, Heinkel and BMW Isetta bubble cars, the British Bond and Berkeley minicars and - needless to say - the Citroen 2CV.

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