Man keeps a Subaru collection of 50 cars in a parking garage

If you believe social media, the vintage car collector is a polished, perfectly tanned businessman with teeth so white that only the Large Particle Accelerator could measure how much light it emits. Most of these types are on the unbearable end of the personality scale. But worse, their behavior gives very little insight into their true love of cars and serves more as a peacock to show off their wealth.

And that’s exactly what makes this collection so much fun. He is not based in the tax port, but in the suburbs of Tokyo. And even in one of those volcanic fountains and pot flutes and geishas. It is a parking garage under one of Yokohama’s train stations, which is accessed by thousands of commuters every day. It’s not where you’d expect to find one of the largest Subaru collections in the world…

The man behind the Subaru collection

When meeting Akira Yokoyama – also known as Mr. Boxer – who suffers from what he calls ‘Fuji Heavy Syndrome’. And no, that’s not a nuclear surplus like Fukushima meltingbut kudos to Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent company before it was rebranded in 2017. And the only car brand that Yokoyama-san allows in his pursuit of ultimate happiness.

Mr. Boxer doesn’t collect all Impreza models either. He did this until he sold all but four of his collections in 2014 and started over. “I love the Impreza, but I also wanted to experience the previous models, to better understand its history,” he explains. Since then, every Subaru the company has built since 1953 has been the target.

And that’s easier said than done with a brand like this. It may not be known as a producer of ultra-expensive cars, but that also means it’s never achieved much status as a collector’s item, if you ignore models like the 22B, S201 and Spec C. And if you have tons of money, those examples are easy to come by. That becomes very easy if you want a Brat 4×4 that is rust free to the core.

The Japanese man does not show Gram

Yokoyama-san does not fit the profile of a traditional collector. He arrives wearing a Subaru jacket, fine, but otherwise his appearance and demeanor do not reveal the things he has stored here in Yokohama. He can be found on social media, but you will never find a selfie or anything that is not directly related to his collection. You shouldn’t expect a reply to a DM either.

“Many people ask if my Subarus are for sale, or if they can make a video of them for YouTube,” says Yokoyama-san. ‘But I’m not interested in that. Because this is my passion, my long-term obsession. The idea behind it is not to gain followers or stand out. But I enjoy meeting other Subaru enthusiasts.”

So it’s surprising, to say the least, that its first appearance outside of Japan TopGear takes place. And it’s all thanks to our old friend Junya Matsushita, who convinced Yokoyama-san to show his collection on an international scale.

Why is the Subaru collection in a public garage?

But what events led to someone parking 50 Subarus in a public parking garage? And why are they all Subarus anyway? “It all started when I bought a Nissan Bluebird,” says Yokoyama-san. ‘This was my first car, and after a few years I wanted something sporty instead. And so in 1993 I bought my first Subaru – a GF8 Impreza Sport Wagon. I was so impressed with its functionality and performance that I knew I had to have another one when I grew up.”

In fact, it was the unmistakable sound of the Impreza’s four-cylinder boxer engine – mixed with that of the uneven-height intake manifolds – that stuck with Yokoyama-san. “I had the first Impreza for a long time,” he adds.

‘He did everything I wanted. Every winter I went skiing, and the Impreza’s all-wheel drive system was made for mountain roads. But after seven years I switched to a Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon – the Impreza already had a lot of miles on it, and I could make good use of the Legacy’s extra space, while not sacrificing performance. But in 2003 the stress started.’

Yokoyama-san’s techniques

The turning point for Yokoyama-san was when he convinced his wife to drive her beloved Heritage Car, which gave her the opportunity to buy another Subaru – the ‘frog eye’ 2003 WRX STI The plan worked very well until 2007; Yokoyama-san gave his wife a different car each time, which opened the door to buying the latest version himself. Happy wife, happy lifeisn’t it true?

Of course, he gave this whole process an extra push by buying 22B in 2007, when prices were still normal. “It was lighter and faster than any Subaru I’d ever driven!” he wonders. ‘The GC8 is of timeless beauty, especially as a coupe, and that wide it looks very “motorsport”. It drove so differently from the other GC8s that it made me wonder: What? What are all the other Imprezas I’ve never driven? The 22B is very special, but I wanted to try all the other variations as well. And then the collection got a little lost…’

In the following years Yokoyama-san added all the others greatest hits for his Subaru collection: S201, S202, S203 and RA-R. The S204 followed in 2011, with another GC8 Type R, the Legacy RS-RA and the Leone AG6 RX/II. Not only had his Subaru collection begun to grace the Impreza, he had also expanded to the models that preceded it.

“They have to be street legal and able to drive year round.”

“In 2014 I had about 45 cars. Then I stopped and sold all but four,” he says. ‘It got a little crazy. I thought if I sold them all I would be cured of Fuji Heavy Syndrome. But it seems there is absolutely no medicine against this disease. It’s been nine years now and I have more cars than ever!’

Not just new Subarus

That’s because Yokoyama-san no longer just wanted to know about the Impreza’s history; he wanted to go back further than this bloodline, to the birth of Subaru. And so there were also important models such as the FF-1 from 1969 and the Leone Estate from 1978. This does not mean that Yokoyama-san has turned his back on the Impreza.

On the contrary: his current collection includes seventeen examples of the model generation GC8, but also later versions such as the S206 from 2011 and even the GK2 from 2022, to ensure that he has not forgotten the previous generation. So, what’s next?

The rally past is reflected in the Subaru collection

‘Recently I started bringing together WRC and other racing cars. I only have four now – a 1992 Legacy, two 1994 Imprezas and a ’95 model driven by Colin McRae. The quest for more interesting cars is always lurking, but I don’t think the collection will grow much from now on.’

According to Yokoyama-san, his focus has now shifted from collecting cars to maintaining his Subaru collection. That’s already a problem with just a few cars, let alone 50 of them. But he’s adamant that all cars must be street-legal and able to be driven year-round, even if that means selling less in the process.

That sounds reasonable on paper, but don’t forget what happened the last time Yokoyama-san had a cleaning rage, about nine years ago. “As I said, there is no cure for this disease,” he laughs. ‘Sometimes you just need to take a little medicine to make the symptoms bearable, but when the days come back they always come…’

Choose your favorite child

“It’s impossible to choose just one,” says Yokoyama-san when you put this to him. And then be completely silent for a few minutes. ‘The best I can do is narrow it down to four cars: 1994 GC8 STI, 1996 GC8 Type R STI, ’98 GC8 22B STI and just one 2000 GC8 S201? It’s just not possible.’ He is not lying. Because when he decided to sell his 45 cars in 2014, the four cars above were the only ones that didn’t leave. And they will remain in his possession forever.