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Subaru to Launch SVX Successor. Will Be a Hybrid Six-Cylinder

Is it just us, or are Japanese automakers restarting their focus on sportscars? After the S2000, the RX-8 and Mitsubishi Eclipse died off in quick succession, we honestly though emissions regulations spelled the end of the petrolhead. However, Honda is already bucking what seemed like a trend by bringing back the NSX next year and now it seems Subaru is planning something similar.
Subaru SVX 1 photo
Photo: Subaru
Remember the Subaru SVX sports coupe. It was the first car of kind from Subaru and starting at about $25,000 more than two decades ago, it was also their most expensive. Why would anybody pay that much? Because of a 3.3-liter flat-six engine which. The SVX also came with a number of really cool innovations, like a window within a window for the side and glass-to-metal bonding, unique at the time.

According to a recent report from an Australian magazine Motoring, the SVX is coming back and just like the Acura NSX, it will be an all-wheel drive hybrid.

Power would reportedly come from a newly developed 3.3-liter direct injected flat-six. This is smaller than the 3.6 in the Legacy and Outback, but the same size as the SVX's engine. A hybrid system developed in partnership with Lexus will then be added, resulting in a total output of 380 horsepower. The vehicle is expected to adopt a permanent four-wheel drive powertrain, which is necessary in order to cope with all that power.

Just like the powertrain, the platform will be all-new as well. Subaru has already announced the "SGP", short for Subaru Global Platform. We won't get to see it put to use until the next Impreza arrives. However, their new sportscar will also adopt it.

Looking at an SVX 23 years after it came out, it's hard to get excited due to its old-fashioned styling. But you've got to remember this is 1991 we're talking about. Back then, it was so futuristic that laser and rockets wouldn't have looked out of place.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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