Subaru’s distinctive wedge-shaped sport coupe arrived for the 1985 model year and stood apart from the brand’s more familiar practical cars. Built around the company’s boxer-engine layout and available with all-wheel drive, it was aimed at buyers who wanted something more futuristic and personal than a conventional compact coupe. Its styling was the main statement: low, angular, and highly aerodynamic, with an unusual aircraft-like cockpit and pop-up headlights that made it one of the most recognizable Japanese cars of the 1980s.
The car was part of Subaru’s push to broaden its image beyond economy and utility vehicles, showing that the company could build a technically interesting and visually daring sporty model. Over its life it evolved through updates rather than a full reinvention, and Subaru later added a six-cylinder variant that further emphasized its grand-touring character. In the United States, the coupe became especially memorable for enthusiasts who appreciated its oddball design, advanced-for-the-time all-wheel-drive availability, and the way it previewed Subaru’s later interest in sporty halo models.
Production ended in 1991, when Subaru moved on to the larger and more ambitious SVX. Today, the car is remembered as one of the brand’s boldest early specialty models: unconventional, thoroughly 1980s in appearance, and important in establishing Subaru’s reputation for engineering-driven design rather than anonymous commuter transport.