Spotted: Subaru XT

A cross between a sci-fi prop and a car, this weirdo coupe proves that two-door Subarus are nothing new.

Depending on the decade in which it's conceived, a science fiction vision of the future is either curvy or geometrically angular. According to the visionaries of the 1980s, the future was set to be a curve-free place.

And everyone, but everyone, would be driving round in something very like this Subaru XT.

These days, the XT oozes Bladerunner/Tron cool. It's got a quirky offset, asymmetrical steering wheel, a single wiper blade, an artificial horizon-style orange digital instrument cluster (OK, so this car doesn't have that, but some of them did), four-wheel drive that can be switched on and off via the trigger-like button on the centre console. Some XTs also had all-wheel-drive that would be activated by switching the wipers on, but we don't think this is one of those cars.

This is a proper Subaru, too, with a turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine (kicking out 136hp in European spec, rather more than it mustered in other markets) that, not entirely coincidentally, permits a low nose. This gave the XT a thoroughly impressive drag coefficient on 0.29.

But unlike, say, an Impreza in the 90s, this is not a common car. In fact, the vendor of this particular example reckons there are only four XTs in the UK, which we can well believe.

It's also got plenty of ticket left, a smidgen of tax, and sounds like it's been well looked-after (though it is a minor disappointment that the air suspension has been replaced with Legacy springs. All of which, if slapping on some electronica, indulging in copious amounts of hairspray and practising your Rutger Hauer impression is your bag, makes the £2,000 asking price seem rather reasonable...

SUBARU XT
Engine: 1,780cc flat-four turbo
Transmission:4-speed auto
Power (hp):136@5,600rpm
Torque (lb ft):145@2,800rpm
MPG: na
CO2: na
First registered: 1987 (D-plate)
Recorded mileage:92,700
Yours for: £2,000