Kazuyoshi Shimizu

"How About That, Minus 100 kg"

Asked what changed most in the fourth-generation Legacy compared with its predecessor, development lead Kazuyoshi Shimizu says, "Weight reduction. We took it as far as it could go." The project to lighten the body began in the second half of the year the previous model debuted, and by reviewing the materials and processing methods of the parts and the structure of the body from scratch, they found a way to make it 230 kg lighter while being more rigid than the previous model. In the production car, the wider body, improved sense of rigidity, and strengthened suspension meant the weight came down by only 100 kg. Even so, Shimizu calmly said that since other companies make a big fuss over cutting just 10 kg, it was probably fine to say, "How about that, minus 100 kg. Pretty impressive, isn't it?"