The Subaru XT (or XT6 , if it was a six-cylinder version) was a compact sports coupe that was unlike anything of its time. It's usually a cliché, but this car was a departure even in the production of other cars of this brand. It was shown for the first time in 1985 in New York and immediately shocked. But not only with its appearance, but also with refined technology and equipment – fuel injection, turbocharger, all-wheel drive, air conditioning or air suspension with ground clearance adjustment in the range of 155 to 190 mm. It was produced until 1991 and sold in Japan as the Alcyone (the name of the brightest star in the Pleiades constellation that Subaru has in its emblem) and in Australia and New Zealand as the Subaru Vortex . It was then replaced by the Subaru SVX . A total of 98,918 cars were produced.
However, the unique shape had a reason, the whole car was very aerodynamic, after all its drag coefficient was only 0.29. The shape was also verified in the wind tunnel, and even small details, such as the shape of the cranks, were addressed. The removable roof part was also interesting, so the car is essentially a body version of a targa. The whole car is very sharply cut, it is an exaggeration to say that the only round thing is the wheels and the steering wheel rim. And the steering wheel is quite extravagant, two-spoke, asymmetrical in the shape of the letter F. The levers under the steering wheel are huge and contain a large number of switches. Even back then, the equipment could have included an on-board computer, headlight washers or an assistant for starting up a hill called a hill holder. The shift lever, on the other hand, was more like a joystick. The dashboard was digital and looked very futuristic. Trim levels were designated as DL, GL and the top GL-10.
Under the hood could be an atmospheric four-cylinder boxer with multi-point injection with an output of 72 kW, or its turbocharged version with an output of 83 kW. There was also a choice of manual or automatic transmission. The front wheels were originally driven, but you had the option to connect the rear wheels manually, but until 1987 only on the turbocharged version. Its production was discontinued in 1988 and the model was replaced by the six-cylinder XT6 version. The weaker one had the option to have connectable all-wheel drive only on manual transmission versions in 1988 and 1989. Permanent all-wheel drive AWD was then available on the version with automatic transmission and on the more powerful XT6 .
In 1987, a minor facelift took place, when the XT6 version (under the name Alcyone VX in Japan) was launched at the same time. After the facelift, the control unit was moved to the trunk, which caused more frequent problems with the contacts on the cables. Otherwise, the facelift can be recognized by the shape of the rear lights. The XT6 version got a flat six-cylinder with a volume of 2.7 liters and a power of 108 kW under the hood. The shock absorbers were also changed so that the car could still be handled well even with a heavier engine. A special feature was the electrohydraulic power steering, the effect of which changed depending on the current speed. However, this version was never sold in New Zealand due to unsuitable fuel. The local dealer delivered only one model there (here under the name Vortex ZZ6 ), which is still in operation today.
The Subaru XT was truly one of the most extravagant cars of its time and still attracts attention today. Although it was never officially sold here, several examples can be found on our roads as well, and hopefully it will continue to be so.
Photo: Autowp
