Bruce Willis Is an American Muscle Fan, but Subaru Named a Hatchback After Him Anyway
Bruce Willis is an action star and American icon. It may not shock you to know just how much he loves iconic American muscle cars. More surprising, Subaru named a plain-jane hatchback after the action movie star. Here are several muscle cars Willis has owned over the years and the Subaru that carries his name.
1968 Dodge Charger “Bullitt”
Bruce Willis exploded into the big time with 1988’s Die Hard. In the decades since, he has risen to the ranks of Hollywood royalty. It makes sense that he would also choose to drive Hollywood royalty: According to GQ, Willis bought a replica of the Dodge Charger from the most iconic car chase movie of all time–Bullitt.
1968 Shelby GT 500
This Ford Mustang was tuned by Shelby America. The result is one of the crowning achievements of the muscle car era. It is powered by the Cobra Jet engine and was also sold as a Cobra GT 500 KR (King of the Road). It is no wonder that a discerning enthusiast like Willis would have one of these rare cars in his collection. But when he tried to kick his “addiction” to muscle cars in 2008, Willis auctioned this Shelby off.
1957 Chevrolet Corvette
Willis is a huge fan of the Bowtie. He’s owned multiple Corvettes, a Bel Air, and even the General Motors-built Pontiac Firebird. But the 1957 Corvette might be the most refined Chevrolet in Willis’ collection. It is the last year of the roadster-only first generation of the Corvette. At the time, this open-top, nimble two-seater was Detroit’s answer to nimble European sports cars.
1954 Chevrolet 3100
Remember Willis’ love of Chevies? Well, it extends to the brand’s pickup trucks. Chevrolet’s 1954 pickup truck is a tough work truck with timeless art deco styling. It epitomizes the long-running “Advance-Design” generation of the truck. Willis actually chose this truck and had one custom restored to his specifications.
1993 Subaru Touring Bruce
After the global success of Die Hard, Subaru Japan hired Bruce Willis to film some advertisements. The odd videos, of him running along the beach or through a city, apparently did so well in Japan that the automaker asked him to be a brand ambassador. For Subaru, this apparently included naming a car after Bruce Willis.
The Subaru Touring Bruce was a Subaru Legacy Touring Edition with special “Bruce” badging. Willis continued to appear in Subaru brochures and even sang in some of the company’s Japanese commercials for decades.
Need to know more? Watch the old commercial and learn all about the Subaru Touring Bruce here.
