Q-ship #04 - 1992-97 Subaru SVX

By John LeBlanc

Wow, you never saw this choice of a Q car coming, did you? Well, that's the point of Q cars, isn't it--the unexpected!

Yes, the SVX had those goofy Guigiaro-styled windows, but they gave the car a class-leading 0.29 drag coefficient and a show car detail that we all wish more manufacturers had the cajones to follow through on when they productionize their starry-eyed concepts. Yes, it only came with an auto tranny, but it did possess a creamy 24 valve, 230 hp., 224 lb.-ft., 3.3 litre flat-six with dual overhead cams that eagerly revved to its 6500-rpm redline. Yes, it was a Subie, which Fuji Heavy Industries had spent some 20 years previously pitching low-priced quirkiness to the Birkenstocks crowd with their "Inexpensive, and built to stay that way" fluff, but, it had all wheel-drive and good 'ol Subaru reliability. The reality check are the performance specs below in that they match up well with much higher-priced Q cars already mentioned here for William Ford lunch money.

It's wasn't hardcore, by any measure--the SVX was a grand tourer, a GT--and quite a good one at that. And it was certainly not prestigious, even though Road & Track termed it a "poor man's Carrera 4." While stretching things a bit (A lot! - Ed.) with comparisons to a 911, the SVX was unquestionably a big jump for Subaru. In fact to most, it appeared to be a jump off a cliff. Since the SVX dropped in from Planet Subaru late in 1991, as a '92 model, the SVX never matched Subaru's social-climbing ambitions with a watermark of 3,859 copies in '93. Despite the Space 1999 looks, we're talking Q car rarity here, stealth fans.

And if you, self-styled, certified car nut that you are, have already let the SVX slip from your databanks, imagine where the swoopiest Subaru resides in the memories of your local speed nazis...

Engine
configuration Flat6
power 230 hp
torque 224 lb.-ft
displacement 3300 cc

Gear box
4 speed automatic

Performance
0 - 100 km/h 7.3 sec
1/4 mile 15.4 sec
top speed 229 km/h (limited)

Current price: $3,645 - $11,943 U.S.
Q rivals: Audi Coupe quattro, SAAB 900 Turbo
Anti-Q rivals: Dodge Stealth, Toyota Supra, Nissan 300ZX
Q rating: 2/6