![]() Even the “big six” model only produced 108kW and its variable-ratio assistance hydraulic steering and suspension blunted the weight of the two-door coupe, making it more “grand tourer” than a “lithe sports car” like Mazda’s MX-5. The NA models had just 72kW from their 1.7-litre four-cylinder, while the turbocharger added 11kW to that score for a disappointingly pedestrian 83kW of tepid performance. But for all the high-tech gadgetry the Vortex wasn’t really a sports car. Inside there was a super-futuristic aero-inspired cabin featuring such 80s radness as a single-spoke steering wheel, a full digital dashboard on turbo models, a pistol-grip shifter, and both tilt and telescope adjustment of the steering and instrument binnacle. The dramatic wedge shape hid many aerodynamic tricks to give one of the lowest aerodynamic drag figures of the time for a mass-market production car (0.29Cd), including deflectors to direct air around the wheels and tyres, retracting flush-mount door handles, and a single wiper that hid behind the bonnet (hood) cowl line. And, in case you're wondering, it is pronounced "Al-SIGH-uh-nee". Subaru North America dubbed it the XT, while Australia and New Zealand tagged it the Vortex, and it was the Alcyone (named for the brightest star in the Pleiades constellation, which makes up Subaru’s logo) in Japan. It was sold in front-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive layouts, with Subaru’s EA82 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed engines in aspirated and turbocharged formats later joined by their ER27 2.7-litre flat-six in some markets. Introduced to the world in 1985, Subaru’s first sports car went by many different names but had one central philosophy: bring new ideas to the sports car market. When the BRZ and its Toyota 86 sibling muscled their way into the sports car market people lauded Subaru for "finally building a sports car". While the BRZ is a cracker of a sports car, it wasn't Subaru's first attempt at building one. ![]()
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