In the late 1980s, Japan went through an economic bubble that fueled domestic demand for vehicles with advanced technology. During that era, Subaru developed the new SVX (Specialty Vehicle eXperimental) a luxury, grand touring coupe. It was Subaru’s attempt to reinvent itself from a builder of bland, utilitarian vehicles into a global player in the luxury car market. The SVX was designed to compete against established brands, like a Japanese version of a Jaguar XJS at a fraction the price. In late 1991, the first SVX production cars started rolling off the assembly line at the Ota North Plant in Tokyo, Japan.
Yet within 5 years, Subaru had discontinued its flagship SVX after selling only 24,379 cars. Subaru lost nearly $75,000,000 on their ‘halo car’ with all its advanced, cutting-edge technology. In its attempt to move up-market, Subaru packed so much high-tech wizardry into the SVX that it priced itself out of the market. Despite an MSRP of $36,740 in 1997 (or about $84,100 today) some automotive insiders estimate that Subaru lost $3,000 on each SVX sold. Where did the money go?
ITALDESIGN Giorgetto Giugiaro: To create a European-styled, grand touring car, Subaru hired famed automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro (named Car Designer of the Century in 1999) who was responsible for stunners like the BMW M1, Lotus Esprit, and DeLorean DMC-12. For the SVX he penned a long, low, four-seat coupe with a unique glass canopy. The SVX’s most memorable feature is the aircraft-inspired cockpit design that wrapped glass around the passenger compartment, with no visible A-pillar, for a seamless appearance. The curvaceous and muscular SVX was also aerodynamically advanced, with a 0.29 drag coefficient. The SVX shared no parts with existing vehicles in
Four Wheel Steering & All Wheel Drive: In the 80s and 90s most mass-market vehicles were front wheel drive, thanks to its efficient packaging and easy-to-drive vehicle dynamics. Subaru elevated the SVX to another level developing a complex AWD system known as ACT-4 Active Torque Split which dynamically adjusted the power split between front and rear wheels, depending on conditions, for enhanced stability and usability. On SVX models built for the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) a completely different AWD system called VTD Variable Torque Distribution was developed concurrently. The VTD was designed with the performance-oriented Japanese driver in mind and even included a sophisticated four wheel steering system.
Remote Release Doors: While it was not the first vehicle produced to include an infrared remote key fob, Subaru took the SVX a step beyond with a coded door release system. During initial setup, a driver selectable 4-digit code was programmed in. The driver could of course unlock the door by using the key or remote control. But in the event the keys were locked in the car, or if the driver wanted to leave the car running with the doors locked (such as in winter) the driver could then unlock the door from outside by entering a sequence on the door handle, similar to using Morse code. For example, id the security code programmed was 2-1-2-1 the driver could simply pull the door handle twice, once, twice then once and the power locks would open.
Unique Ride: What’s the legacy of the Subaru SVX today, 30+ years after its release? Was it ahead of its time, and is the vehicle a future collectible? Not really. The SVX was packed with so much technology that it became too expensive for Subaru to sell. It was never embraced by the tuner car community despite, the cool styling and being featured in the original Gran Turismo video game. There’s an estimated 50 left in Canada, and around 1,000 remaining in the US, many of those are ‘survivor’ cars in rough shape. But there’s also a handful of show cars on the scene like @cleanSVX and his blue-on-blue beauty; a rare and exceptional vehicle.
For those of us still daily driving these automotive oddballs, its never boring. There is no pit stop at the gas station that doesn’t include a stranger walking up and asking about the car (especially the windows) . And out on the road, knowledgeable Subaru drivers that give ‘the wave‘ to anyone in a World Rally Blue WRX will positively chase you down the street to talk at the next stoplight. After all, the SVX really is the grandfather of all Subaru performance cars that came after.