The Subaru SVX had the style to command attention, but didn’t have the performance merits to justify its costly price tag. Purists may scoff at Subaru’s decision to resist turbocharging the SVX’s potent 3.3-liter Boxer six-cylinder engine, but there’s a justifiable reason for that.
Producing 230 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque, Subaru didn’t have a manual gearbox to handle all that twist. Instead, Subaru shoehorned a four-speed automatic in the SVX, a decision that left performance buyers disappointed and looking somewhere else.
Moreover, Subaru reportedly lost $3,000 for every SVX sold in the United States, hard to believe considering the SVX retailed for $36,000 in the 1990s. Weak sales and unsustainable economics made Subaru cancel the SVX in 1996 after a short five-year production run, making it the brand’s most well-known sales flop.
However, the limited production run has made the SVX a desirable collector’s item that won’t break the bank, but only if you can find one for sale. As it stands, the Subaru SVX is fetching $5,000 to $10,000 in the vintage market.
