Driving a retro Subaru, whether its a ’92 SVX or ’02 WRX, import shows tend to be where your summer is spent. Sure there’s the Motorama Hot Rod and Custom Show to see the old skool Mustangs and Mercurys. And of course, the Canadian International Auto Show is still the biggest event in the country, but that’s more like shopping for a new minivan.
Import cars are the ‘youth culture’ of the Canadian automotive scene, and it’s been that way for more than 25 years. Teenaged gearheads can’t afford a ’67 Camaro; they can afford a ’97 Civic. Those became the hot rods of the modern era, and as those gearheads grew and matured, their tastes remained distinctly Japanese.
My 1992 Subaru wasn’t a car that I could afford at 18 years old, but it was certainly one I aspired to own one day. Back in the day, while driving an old Impreza into the dealership for service, the SVX stood out as the top model in the Subaru line. It was elegant and futuristic, but at $38,000 in late 1991, it was also impossible to afford.
Now as a grown man with wives and kids and mortgages I can finally afford something like the SVX, but the late models really don’t appeal to me. So I bought this retro ride nearly a decade ago and have spent double what I paid for it on improvements and modifications. This year, the car finally got some style, with the neon underglow and Outrun-inspired graphics.
I was really happy that the ImportExpo organizers allowed be to bring the Synthwave SVX to the show. It’s not a modern BMW or classic Datsun. It’s somewhere in the middle, but from the same era as the famed R-32 Nissan GT-R ‘Godzilla’ but minus the racing pedigree.
The old guys at the show came over to chat about it because they haven’t seen one in 20 or 30 years. The young guys checked it out because they’d only ever seen the SVX in video games like Gran Turismo 2 or Forza Motorsport. The weird ones just came over to say hi because they could see that in my Miami beach shirt and pink hat I was one of their people.
~ Chris #16 Demaras
Such glowing beauty.
She has her moments. And for $8K used the SVX was less expensive than a Nissan Skyline GT-R.