The smell of the 80s wafts through this car. The 3.3 liter six-cylinder boxer engine roars under the long white hood. Legendary, one might say. Six-cylinder boxer engines - these are only available from Porsche today. And until a few years ago at SUBARU.
Time travel in the SUBARU SVX and Impreza GT 2.0 Turbo
The SVX was ahead of its time. A futuristically drawn athlete. And it was the typical Japanese “all-inclusive” model. Large six-cylinder, all-wheel drive, everything electric, from the mirror to the typical SVX side windows. Of course with automatic climate control. When the SVX came onto the market in 1991, it was the successor to the boxy SUBARU XT. Its body shell was designed in Italy by Giugiaro; it was flowing and yet represented a dynamic wedge shape. Under its hood was the 33 liter water boxer known internally as the EG3.3 - no turbocharging - but two overhead camshafts, four-valve technology and between 220 and 230 hp strong. Despite its four-speed automatic transmission, the SVX sprinted to 7.5 km/h in 100 seconds.
SUBARU Germany has one of the rare SVXs, only 854 (according to Wiki) were sold in Germany. If you look at the relevant online sales platforms today, you won't even find a handful of offers. Anyone who owns an SVX keeps it. The 90s are in the plush seat covers in the SVX. You expect from the radio “I'v been looking for freedom” by David Hasselhoff.
What sounded spectacular at the beginning of the 90s, all-wheel drive and 3.3 liter boxer engine with 230 hp, is now, over 25 years later, a journey through time to a decelerated world. Big buttons, plastic, but above all the sonorous sound of the smoky three-point, three-liter boxer engine. At all. That sound. Only a boxer engine sounds like a boxer engine. But the sound was not the reason for choosing the boxer layout. These are the unique advantages that such a boxer engine has over other variants such as in-line engines and V-engines. A flat center of gravity in the vehicle, unique smoothness and ease of revving, the perfect balance of a boxer engine makes engineer's hearts beat faster and illustrates the way the Japanese work. Lower inertia forces and a short crankshaft also lead to lower loads on the material side. Nevertheless, a boxer engine is not guaranteed to be the cheapest solution, because a boxer engine is always a little more expensive to manufacture, among other things, the double cylinder heads are to blame. But the boxer is the most technologically sensible solution.
At SUBARU and its parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, the heart has been beating for this engine design for 50 years. In addition to the unique commitment to all-wheel drive, because that is also part of the good style and the convincing technology concept at SUBARU, the boxer engine has been the common thread that runs through all SUBARU models since 1966. Fuji Heavy Industries manufactured the first boxer engine for the SUBARU 1000. And then also tested against in-line engines and V-engines. The board of directors at the time was convinced of the BOXER concept and a unique success story began for SUBARU. Incidentally, aluminum was used instead of gray cast iron back then!
To date, over 16 million units have been manufactured and the SUBARU brand, which is so small in Germany, sells three times more vehicles than Volkswagen in countries like the USA.
The Impreza 2.0 GT Turbo can tell another story. Here, too, SUBARU Germany had the luck of the efficient on its side. An original Impreza GT with less than 10.000 kilometers is in the fleet today. It's an excursion into a fascinating world. The charm of the late nineties, a youngtimer in the condition of a new car. Or better: the GT tells of the world of rally successes while you wait for the boost pressure, which slowly but mercilessly builds up. About safaris, gravel roads and tough fights at the world's top rally sport. Subaru won the World Rally Championship three times in a row from 1995 onwards. Always with a boxer engine. Always with all-wheel drive. It was the wild time of Group A. It was Colin McRae's time. Unforgotten. In the meantime, the oil in the 1998 Impreza 2.0 GT is warm, the supercharger is up to speed and the approximately 215 hp silver sedan storms away from the traffic lights. 5 courses are still enough today. Each course fits seamlessly with the previous one. Only the speed should not fall below 2.800 revolutions, then that is also true with the propulsion. The flawless GT shifts precisely and sensitively. Directly. So alive. It is hard to believe that this car will soon be 20 years old. How new it feels. The orange speedometer needle moves eagerly over the white speedometer sheet. Tightly dampened, with binding suspension, this Impreza GT conveys the new condition of 1998. Too bad for the wild hunt, a cultural heritage that the German subsidiary of SUBARU is fortunately committed to preserving.
50 years - a brand remains true to itself
50 years of boxer engines are celebrated there. Rightly so. The cars are unique. Even today. And when Volker Dannath, the managing director of SUBARU Germany, confirms in an interview: “In Japan, the technicians are also planning for the future with the boxer engine,” then you can let out a sigh of relief, not as loudly as the wastegate of the Impreza GT 2.0, but gladly too effective. Let the people of Friedberg remember that they are also valued in Germany Technology culture of the Japanese!