Subaru SVX

The luxury/high performance automobile market ought to be a goal of every automobile manufacturer, right? During the years 1992 through 1997 Subaru made about 25,000 of their version of this kind of car, the SVX. About 12,000 of these were imported into the United States. It was thought to be an affordable exotic car.

The original SVX started with and remained with only one engine version. It had the 3.3 liter, horizontally opposed, flat-6, boxer engine which had dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. It delivered 230 horsepower and was the largest boxer engine produced by Subaru up until that time. The engine ignition used platinum-tipped spark plugs and had a computerized management system. Head pipes from each bank of cylinders each had their own pre-catalytic converters which entered a dual inlet/single outlet main catalytic converter. This led into the main, transverse, single inlet muffler with twin exhaust tips in the bumper.

All of these SVX versions had automatic transmissions feeding power into the all-wheel drive for vehicles sold in North America, Switzerland, France, and Germany. A sportier VTD (Variable Torque Distribution) was built into versions sold in Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Austria, and Brazil. The VTD was later adapted in some other Subaru madels.

The SVX had electrically adjustable driver’s seat, and an electric sun roof, cruise control, central locking, and a six speaker stereo system along with other amenities common in the early 1990s.

Designed by Giorgetto Guiggiaro, the SVX was first shown in the 28th Tokyo Auto Show in 1989 as a concept car. Even today it is prized as a used car with unusual styling and it may become a prized collectible in the future. Subaru lost about $3,000 on each SVX sold, having introduced it into the American market during a recession. Since production discontinued in 1997, owners have had considerable difficulty in obtaining parts and tires satisfactory for this otherwise enviable automobile.