I love the Subaru XT. These were forgotten for years until just recently when Subaru themselves restored an XT for their museum that caught a bit of attention. Subaru also doesn't currently offer anything similar to it.
The XT was sold from 1985-1991. It featured either front or four-wheel drive, four or six cylinders, and was either normally aspirated or turbocharged.
Perhaps the coolest aspect is the avant garde styling. At first glance it looks like a 1980s vision of the future, perpetually auditioning for a background shot in Blade Runner or Total Recall. But a careful examination reveals the design to unusually thoughtful. The wedge shape provides for a .29 drag coefficient, and the large greenhouse glass and blackened pillars give it superior visibility in and out, while also looking super stealthy. The thin taillight strip no doubt inspired the Alfa 164. The whole thing is almost primordial, progressive but ancient feeling, like some kind of aborted project or lost code, and reminds me of the Apex building in Pawtucket, RI, like it should be the structure's emergency shuttle craft or something.
Inside, the futuristic theme continues with an asymmetrical steering wheel, joystick-like gearshift and tightly spaced and intense instrument cluster. This one has obviously been cared for with a windshield block to prevent the sun from cracking the dash and covers to protect the cloth seats.
Not many were sold and most were thrashed during ownership so even less have survived. The seller of this example doesn't give the milage but says it was well maintained, and it looks ok in the photos.
If Subaru is restoring these, we're not far off from the days when individuals start doing so too. These are interestingly styled and fun to drive. This is just the front-wheel drive version, but the turbocharged four cylinder examples with four-wheel drive are first in line to become modern collector classics. Snatch these up before they all get scrapped.
Available here on craigslist for $2,200.
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