Subaru SVX: Catch It While You Can

The return of the WRX STI has got Keith wanting to save another Subaru from extinction

It's good to see a Subaru WRX STI is coming back to the UK, even it’s no longer officially an Impreza by name. I'd been thinking about Scoobys just last night, when I spotted an SVX. In motion. And in the pouring rain, cracking along at a fair old pace. The owner clearly had confidence in his tyres, his headlamps, and knew this bit of Northamptonshire B-road pretty well.

She's a beaut- ... oh, actually she isn't

For an insane moment, it led me to have one of those 'I'd have one of those in my garage' moments. And after a good night's sleep, it continues to linger. I've always had a sneaking admiration for Subaru, and its decision to stick with the boxer engine and that symmetrical all-wheel drive system when any other company would have given up years ago. The SVX fits perfectly into that gene pool.

The SVX made quite a splash when launched back in 1991. It was an ItalDesign-styled concept for the road, powered by Subaru's new and quite stunning EG33 flat-six. When new, it was labelled as quirky and interesting by the car magazines, and Autocar was quick to pronounce that it had the beating of the Jaguar XJS 4.0. Strong words.

But with a launch price of £27,995, and in the pre-Impreza era, Subaru wasn't quite ready – in the minds of big coupe buyers – for greatness. Perhaps they were right to dismiss the SVX. Whatever their thinking, it was, and remains, a great long distance cruiser. But a sporting car, it was not. What it lacked was power, and a great manual gearbox. Or a manual 'box or any description...

OK, if not handsome then definitely interesting

A quick scan of the PH classifieds soon reveals that my sighting was indeed a rare one. And more tellingly, the SVX still has yet to find its place in the PH pecking order. It's been a SoTW, and a controversial one at that , and one that it seems quite a few don't quite get. But top-notch examples of original UK cars can fetch anywhere up to £8,000. I'm nowhere near ready for that level of commitment, but equally, I wouldn't kick the right £2,000 example out of my garage.

A few years back, I drove one for a magazine feature, and the memory of the experience remains firmly imprinted in my memory. The amazing styling, the futurist interior, a well-engineered feel, and that amazing howling engine and exhaust note. It's the latter that really does set the SVX apart from its contemporaries, such as the Porsche 968 and Jaguar XJS. But, my word, that four-speed autobox really defines the SVX as a cruiser, not a charger – and that's a shame, as the flat-six is crying out to be properly unleashed. In standard form, its 0-60mph time of 7.5 seconds and 145mph were nothing to write home for the money.

Cars this odd need to be saved from the scrapper!

Would I be able to leave it alone? Probably not. SVXs are well-known for their gearboxes packing up after as little as 60,000 miles in the wrong hands, due to heat build-up and abuse. Replacing it with a five-speeder from the Legacy or Impreza is a reasonably well-trodden path, and one that faced with the prospect of an autobox rebuild, I'd find hard to resist. I'd probably be tempted to release a bit more power, too – the EG33 will certainly take far more than the standard 227hp. Imagine a manual 'box SVX, pushing out 300hp? All of a sudden it looks a lot more tempting.

Had the SVX not been launched as the early-1990s recession was gaining momentum, and Subaru had been able to stick with the concept, it would have been developed into something like that. But right now, we're left with a fascinating might-have-been, and one that's not far from the endangered list. At the last count, there were 70 taxed and 62 SORN'd examples left on UK roads. If you want an SVX, catch one now before they've all disappeared – assuming you can.

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Madkat

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