One of the most unique features of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Subaru SVX is its windows within its windows. The question is: will its price make it something you could see yourself in?
In the Blake Edwards movie S.O.B. a director turns his failed family film into a fever-dream sex romp in a last ditch attempt to save his career. As you might imagine, hilarity ensues. The same could not be said for the equally ambitious switch from milquetoastian to hair-chested power-beast that was affected on yesterday’s 2000 Honda Insight.
That car’s hybrid guts had been unceremoniously ripped out and replaced with 220-horsepower worth of K20 four. Hot rodding is something we can all get behind, but the price tag on that presto-chango wasn’t, and it fell in a substantial 85-percent Crack Pipe loss.
Hey, do you remember the ‘90s? That was the era before smart phones and hipster restaurants serving Brussels Sprouts as appetizers. You know, cave man days. It also kind of represented the last hurrah for big Japanese touring coupés. Since then at least, the two-doors from the Land of the Rising Sun have been far fewer in number and less audacious as a whole.
One of the most audacious of the back-in-the-day breed was Subaru’s SVX, or Alcyone in JDM land. How audacious? Let’s just count off the funky features, okay? There’s a flat six engine, all-wheel drive, a body smoother than Barry White on Friday night, and windows that are so cool they need other windows inside them for drug deals or drive-thru burger pass-throughs.
Those windows and the body overall were the work of Italy’s Giorgetto Guigiaro which is just another feather in the SVX’s cap. The platform underneath that was related to the Legacy and the interior was tilted heavily toward luxury. Adding to its audacity, upon its introduction the SVX was priced nearly ten-grand more than any other Subaru product.
This dealer-offered 1992 Subaru SVX LS-L isn’t as expensive as when it first left the factory, however based on the pictures it might just pass for new. The two-tone black over Bordeaux Pearl paint holds a shine, and the plastic full-width headlight lenses are still amazingly crystal clear.
Inside, the leather (the LS-L was the top of the line model) looks to be in great shape, as does the carpet and fabric covering on the lower dash. A sunroof allows ample illumination of the environs here. That will let you check out the amazing shape of the hand brake. You’ll also no doubt be checking out the fact that this SVX is an automatic. Yeah, they all were, get over it.
The reason for the four-speed slusher is the 230-bhp flat six that lies just ahead. Back in the day Subaru didn’t have a stick that could handle the 3.3-litre EG33’s 228 lb ft of torque. Just remember, this is a grand touring coupé, not a canyon crusher so an auto is appropriate. On the plus side, the engine looks like it’s being attacked by the face hugger from Alien. Love that!
All of the bells a whistles appear to be present in support of the car’s lux0 advocation. The ad notes it to be a two-owner ride and to have been meticulously maintained by said owners over the course of its 139,000 miles. The title is clean and the price tag is $6,995.
It’s now time to vote on that price. This is a rare surviver from a bygone era and represents a type of car that few companies build today and the last big luxury tourer from Subaru at all.
What’s your take on this cosseting coupé and that $6,995 price? Does that open a window to its eventual sale? Or, does that price close the door on any interest you might have had?
You decide!
Erie PA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to onlytwowheels for the hookup!
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