If you were to believe social media, the archetypal car collector should be a chiselled, brilliantly tanned entrepreneur with teeth so bright only the Large Hadron Collider could accurately measure the light they emit.
Most of these characters are usually found at the more insufferable end of the personality scale. But worse yet, this attitude gives very little insight into their actual passion for cars, instead functioning more as a peacocking exercise to showcase their wealth.
Which is what makes this particular collection all the more endearing. It's not located in a tax haven, rather the outskirts of Tokyo. But not some onsen-clad retreat filled with panpipes and geishas either. It's actually a car park under one of Yokohama's many train stations, accessed by thousands of commuters every single day. Hardly the venue for one of the world's largest Subaru collections...
Time to meet Akira Yokoyama - also known as Mr Boxer - who suffers from what he describes as Fuji Heavy disease. And no, this isn't the aftermath of another Fukushimaesque meltdown. But a nod towards Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru before it was renamed in 2017, and the only carmaker Yokoyama-san will entertain in his pursuit of maximum happiness.
Mr Boxer isn't just collecting all types of Impreza, either. He did that back in 2014 before selling off all but four and starting again. "I love the Impreza, but I wanted to experience the models before its creation to better understand its history," he explains. And since then, every Subaru built since the company's inception in 1953 has become a target.
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO
For as long as we can remember the Porsche 911 has been the default best sports car money can buy. Does the new Aston Vantage represent a changing of the guard?
BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO
In a world exclusive, three makers of the world's most powerful hypercars are cordially invited... to drive each other's creations
THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION
Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar's future, or gone mad?
Koenigsegg Jesko Attack
The Jesko Attack drives like a conventional supercar. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. But it doesn't accelerate like one.
STIC LAPS are back!
It's a 1.75-mile figure of eight on an old Canadian Air Force base just south of Guildford. Hardly Monza, or the Mulsanne straight, and never in a million years - you'd think a place that would become one of the most sought after performance benchmarks in the motoring world.
URBAN OUTWITTERS
Does the solution to city motoring lie in designs from the past with powertrains from the future? TopGear goes in search of answers... at rush hour
FUTURE FERRARIS
If you thought Ferrar's past was colourful, wait until you see what it's cooking up next. The future's bright, the future's rosso
DIRTY DOZEN
Ferrari's new super GT makes no secrets about what's under the bonnet, but can it swallow five countries in just a few hours? Better get on with it...
MYTH BUSTER
\"ADAPTIVE DAMPERS ALWAYS NEED TO ADAPT\"
The S2000 from a parallel universe
Meet Evasive Motorsports’ Honda S2000R, the car the Japanese firm should have built itself
