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Few cars qualify as a genuine "I forgot they made those" moment quite like the Subaru SVX, and a no-reserve 1992 SVX LS-L is currently up for auction on Cars & Bids. The silver coupe has 90,900 miles, a clean California title, and a bid sitting at $3,567 at the time of writing, with the auction scheduled to close today, October 13, at 2:42 PM EDT.
The Wildest Thing Subaru Ever Sold
Before Subaru was the crossover-and-Outback brand it is today, it was a quirky automaker with a habit of building cars that nobody else would. The SVX was its biggest swing. Penned under the direction of Giorgetto Giugiaro, the shape is pure early-'90s drama, with a sweeping glasshouse and unusual side windows that feature a small pane lowering within the main glass. It was the spiritual successor to the equally off-the-wall XT, and it arrived as Subaru's attempt to take on the upmarket grand tourers of the era.
Under the hood sits a 3.3-liter flat-six making roughly 230 horsepower and 228 lb-ft of torque, sent to all four wheels through a four-speed automatic. That combination of smooth, great-sounding boxer power and all-weather grip was unlike anything else in the showroom, and the comfort-biased chassis and long equipment list gave the SVX a luxury-coupe feel that was well ahead of Subaru's reputation.
Why It Disappeared
The problem was that the SVX was a very expensive proposition for a brand known for affordable, practical cars. Buyers shopping for a premium coupe weren't thinking Subaru, and the automatic-only drivetrain didn't help with enthusiasts. Sales never took off. Only about 14,000 were sold in the United States, and just over 24,000 were built worldwide between 1991 and 1996. Subaru quietly walked away from the grand-touring game and refocused on the Legacy, Impreza, and eventually the Outback, which proved to be the formula that worked.
Today that story is part of the appeal. The SVX is the kind of car you rarely see on the road anymore, and when one does show up, it tends to draw a crowd of people saying they'd forgotten these existed. Kei trucks and other Japanese oddballs have been finding fans on auction sites lately, as we saw with this 1995 Subaru Sambar fire truck and the sci-fi Isuzu VehiCROSS. The SVX belongs in the same conversation.
About This Example
This SVX wears Liquid Silver Metallic over a dark gray interior and is equipped with the Touring Package, 16-inch wheels, a power sunroof, leather upholstery, automatic climate control, a tilt-and-telescope steering column, and the signature glass-in-glass windows. The seller reports no modifications and says the car was repainted in the past in its factory color. They bought it in May 2023 and have added about 2,500 miles since.
It isn't perfect, and the seller is upfront about it. Listed flaws include chips on the front end, a faded clear coat on the roof, wear on the front seats, an oil leak at the valve cover, and some corrosion on underbody components. There is also a noted delay when the transmission shifts from third to fourth gear, which is something prospective bidders should weigh carefully, since the automatic is widely considered the weak link on these cars.
Even so, a rust-light, unmodified SVX with a clean title and a no-reserve auction is a rare opportunity to grab one of the strangest and most interesting Japanese coupes of its generation. If the SVX scratches your itch for forgotten '90s Japanese machinery, you may also enjoy the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Spyder and this final-year 1996 Nissan 300ZX, which show just how adventurous Japanese automakers were during that era.
Bidding on the 1992 Subaru SVX LS-L is open now on Cars & Bids.
