For $2,000, This 1988 Subaru RX Turbo Is The Leone In Winter
They say there's no business like snow business, or something like that. The seller of today's
Nice Price or Crack Pipe Subie says it's right for either snow or dirt, but has he priced it to be right in your book?
Have you seen a modern Subaru recently? That's okay if you haven't, as you can eyeball a Hyundai Sonata or Toyota Camry and get a general idea of what the current cars look like. It's a sad thing that what was once one of the most eclectic of Japanese – or any country's – car makers has decided to join the beige brigade offering only their flat engines and full-time all-wheel drive as nods to the nutty.
How odd were Subarus of the past? Well, get this, some of them – like today's
1988 RX Liftback – used the generous space afforded by its pancake mill to store their spare tire in the engine compartment. Weird, I know!
These models, known outside the U.S. as the Leone, or Lion, also featured angular '80s-iconic styling and frameless window glass for that just-not-right sealing.
The funny thing is, how many of these cars do you see today? Despite Subaru's hipster-like shunning of the mainstream, these have followed their duller compatriots – the Corollas, Sentras and most all other older Japanese compacts not called Civic – into the junkyards and history.
Not this one however, and I for one am glad to see it. Offered in snow white over fading decal, this '88 RX lift back offers a full rocker kit and large spoiler on the hatch. This was sold alongside the fabulously weird XT at a time when Subaru was testing the waters of sporty car sales.
That's represented under hood where the RX shares with the XT Subaru's 1781-cc turbocharged EA82T flat four. That SOHC fuel-injected engine was good for 112-bhp. That might not sound like much but remember that these cars tipped the scales at just over 2,300 pounds so there isn't much to move.
The seller says that this Subaru is awesome, however there does seem to be a good deal of wear and tear evidenced in the pics in the ad. The description also notes that the hood is doing a slow striptease and that the Walmart hubcaps have escaped leaving the wheels nude as well. There's not much to go on in the ad regarding the interior, but the one pic does seem to show the presence of duct tape on the passenger seat so glean what you can about that.
It's not all gloom and doom however, as this 176,000-mile Subie does rock a new set of snow tires and some maintenance items under the hood. It also sports a five-speed stick, full-time all-wheel drive with locking central diff, and a 3.70:1 LSD in back.
Only about 2,700 RXs were built over the course of '88 and '89, making these hot hatches one of the rarest of all Leones.
That's all well and good, and I am actually glad the cheesy hubcaps were lost. What we're here to find out however is how glad you all will be about this old Subie's price. That's a flat $2,000, and it's now time to vote on whether you think that's a deal, or if this RX's price isn't what the doctor ordered.
You decide!
Medford OR
Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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