I'm not really sure why, but the Subaru SVX has definitely become my latest automotive curiosity over the last week or so. Yes, I know it only ever came with a boring 4-speed auto, but it's a fascinating relic from the Japanese bubble era. Check out this video to see why it's so cool!
What we have here is an incredibly sexy Giugaro-designed sports coupe with a 3.3-liter six-cylinder Boxer engine and many of the same luxury features you'd find on a Lexus from the same era. It also weighs more than 3,500 pounds. That's amazing! Could you really see Subaru coming out with a car like this today? It's a far cry from the BRZ, and even that's an oddball by normal Fuji Heavy standards.
As part of my (probably temporary) obsession with the SVX, I found this dealer training video from 1996, the last year the car was produced. Is it the weirdest automotive video on YouTube? No, but it is narrated by a lovely woman in a pink polo shirt whose hair flows like she's in a wind tunnel the entire time.
At one point, she also says, and I quote, that the SVX has "228 foot pounds of tire melting torque." That's my kinda gal right there.
See, the SVX offered respectable performance in its day, with a zero to 60 mph time in the low 7-second range if you beat it hard enough. It was positioned as a competitor to the low-end Japanese sports coupes of its time, like the non-turbo Nissan 300ZX and the front-wheel-drive Mitsubishi 3000GT.
In part two, we get to see how well the SVX handles in the donut test compared to both of those cars. I'm kind of surprised the 300ZX understeered as badly as it did, if but if this is true, it means the SVX was an adept handler.
It's also quicker during a drag race on a wet road. "No pomp, no circumstance," says the tester guy who is also apparently in a wind tunnel.
Plus, it had automatic climate control! Really, what more could you want?
I like the SVX. Had it had a proper manual transmission, and maybe a turbo or two, it could have been a real contender back during the storied era of early 90s Japanese cars. I'm sure plenty of folks had fun with theirs anyway.
Anyone have any SVX stories they'd like to share with the class?
Also, I have decided we need to highlight more dealer training videos. If you know of some good ones, feel free to toss them in the comments.