In the early 1990’s, Subaru had a 3.3 litre coupe in their stable, the Alcyone SVX was styled by influential designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. This two door grand tourer combined both luxury and performance. Production took place from 1991 through until the car was retired in December of 1996. However, now it’s been confirmed that the SVX marque or concept is about to make a comeback. There is a current demand, from the US market particularly for a high powered coupe to improve the Subaru brand and attract new clientele. The current details are sketchy at best, but there are some details that are known.
Subaru is enjoying a wave of popularity at the moment, with all the profits that go along with that. As part of this success, the plan is to further extend their range into the corporate market. It’s expected that the SVX will be the flagship of the Subaru fleet, placed firmly above the 2016 Tribeca. Initially, the target market will be the US, but sources in Subaru say that both Australia and the UK are on the list as well. Recent concept vehicles displayed by Subaru have highlighted a pair of Viziv crossovers, this may give a clue to the SVX design. Another strongly hinted at aspect is the use of a boxer hybrid engine with six cylinders. Handling defines the modern Subaru fleet and the SVX may have AWD and shooting brakes.
Subaru have openly stated that their future designs will be better looking and more refined. As the flagship of the fleet it’s fair to say that the SVX will probably be a head turner. The profile will be low slung with flared fenders and headlights very similar to those on the Viziv 2 concept vehicle. The hybrid Tribeca is due for release in 2016 and employs a Subaru Global Platform or SGP. The purpose of the platform is to allow an axle forward layout for electrification. It follows then that the new hybrid SVX, which has a tentative release date for 2017, will probably use the SGP as well.
Another interesting aspect of this upcoming hybrid coupe is the hybrid engine component itself. Subaru are committed to making the SVX a powerful coupe with great AWD handling, that is also frugal in it’s fuel consumption. A 3.3 litre flat six engine has been designed, it has direct injection and it will be paired with a hybrid plug in unit made by Lexus. Subaru already has the XV Crosstrek hybrid system that was developed in house, but the SVX’s engine will be too powerful alongside it. Lexus have been developing hybrid technology to use in their high powered cars for some time now. Using a Lexus unit in this way will also reduce R&D costs and the unit may exceed 280kW. This is a the output number to beat for Subaru, as it’s the output of the Tesla Model S which is considered a rival vehicle.
