KEY POINTS:
The original Subaru 360 bubble car and the latest Subaru Impreza rally rocket are worlds apart - but both models are out to make their mark in equally diverse events.
The Impreza will start in tomorrow's Acropolis rally in Greece, the seventh round of the 2008 World Rally Championship.
The 360 will line up in the 50th anniversary of the Liege-Brescia-Liege rally, a 3200km run through some of Europe's toughest terrain, in July.
The Impreza is the Japanese carmaker's new WRC challenger, an all-wheel-drive four-door hatchback based on the road-going Impreza STi and powered by a turbocharged 2-litre flat-four engine producing 224kW.
The 360 is powered by a two-cylinder, air-cooled two-stroke engine mounted in the rear and producing a dizzying 15kW - less power than some drive-on lawnmowers.
The Impreza will be driven in the WRC rounds by Australia's Chris Atkinson and Norwegian Petter Solberg. The two 360 models will be piloted through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and Slovenia by four British amateurs.
Not only does the Liege-Brescia-Liege rally commemorate the 50th anniversary of the original but also the 50th anniversary of the launch of Subaru's first passenger car.
It is the world's only international rally for sub-500cc cars and has attracted over 75 entrants. However, unlike 50 years ago, the July 11-20 event will take 10 days instead of the non-stop three of the original.
The fearless foursome are classic car restorer James Ewing and his partner Jane Puttock in a 1967 model 360 and motor industry executives Victor Sayer and Craig Lawson in a 1968 example.
The 1968 car has a four-speed gearbox, the 1967 model a three-speed unit. Top speed is about 80km/h.
"No, we are not mad - these cars are remarkably spacious and such fun to drive," says Sayer. "They are real conversation pieces, which is part of the enjoyment."
"It only becomes slightly annoying when spectators guess it's a Fiat 500," adds Lawson. "That car in faster Abarth form won the original 1958 rally and there is a factory team entered for this one, so the Fiat is our key competitor."
But for all that, the Subarus and Fiats can't go head-to-head because they are in different categories - the 356cc 360 in the up to 425cc class and the Fiats in the up to 500cc.
The Subaru teams expect the 360 models to finish without a hitch. "Without wishing to tempt fate, I am supremely confident," says Ewing. "Not only have I carried out all the restoration myself but I know these Subarus are very reliable. Also, they are easily fixable by the roadside."
Modifications are minor but include radial tyres, uprated shock-absorbers and overhauled brakes. Penalties are given for repairs en-route, which the team think may help them claw back some points from better-resourced factory team entries.
Rally conditions include the taking of detailed location photographs to prove they have followed the route. Other challenges include map-reading - and keeping cool and comfortable in the cramped confines of a microcar.
"I suppose you can blame me for all of this," says Puttock. "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 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."
Others in the rally include the Fiat 500, Citroen 2CV, Messerschmitt, Heinkel and BMW Isetta bubble cars and Britain's Bond and Berkeley Minicars.
* The Subaru 360 was launched in 1958 and sold around one million units over 12 years. It also carried the first example of the now famous Pleiades six-star emblem mounted on its bonnet. Updated, the badge is still used today.
