Subaru’s Forgotten Car: The SVX

The Subaru SVX had an interesting handling style, but it didn’t have the performance to justify its price tag. Purists may scoff at Subaru’s decision to forgo turbocharging the SVX’s powerful 3.3-liter Boxer six-cylinder engine, but there’s good reason.

Making 230 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque, the Subaru didn’t have a manual gearbox to handle all that torque. Instead, Subaru did a four-stroke exercise in the SVX, a decision that left buyers disappointed and looking elsewhere.

Also, Subaru reportedly lost $3,000 on every SVX sold in the United States, hard to believe considering the SVX sold for $36,000 back in the 1990s. Weak sales and an unstable economy led Subaru to discontinue the SVX in 1996 after five years of limited production, making it one of the most popular sales models.

However, slow production has made the SVX a bargain that won’t break the bank, but only if you can find one for sale. As it stands, the Subaru SVX fetches $5,000 to $10,000 on the vintage market.