Initial Concept
Before I go into the history of the SVX, it is perhaps relevant to look at some of the conceptual designs that emerged in the mid to late 1980's and compare the similarities of those designs with that of the SVX.
The window-within-a-window is perhaps the most controversial styling point of the SVX and is commonly agreed to be a 'love or loathe' feature. However, although such a feature is accepted without question on the AU$2.5 million, 396kph McLaren F1, the 'split window' design also made it into production on the Toyota Sera, a gullwinged underpowered coupe that was built on the Toyota Paseo platform.
The mid to late 1980's, the period in which the SVX and Sera were first conceptualised, was a period in which many design studio's and mainstream manufacturer's developed concept cars that featured not only the window-within-window concept but, as shall be seen, a number of cars that either in part or overall, share a striking similarity to the SVX.
The Citroen Activa of 1988, pictured to the right, is notable not only for its active suspension, 4WD and 4WS but also from a design point of view with regards the front doors and the windows therein. The similarity to the SVX doors are striking, as is the 'floating roof' concept.
Citroen has been renowned for its 'unique' approach to car design, such as the XM, and a comparison of the XM and SVX can be found here.
The split-window has also featured in the Mazda AZ550 concept car that was, coincidentally, also displayed at the same 1989 Tokyo Motor Show as the prototype SVX.
The AZ550 later went on to become the Mazda AZ1 and was designed to fit within the Japanese 'K-Car' specifications of limited engine output with a maximum of 550cc and a maximum length of 126in or 320cm.
Like the Sera, the AZ1 came with gullwing doors
Italdesign
The styling design house of Ital Design was formed by the designer of the Subaru SVX, Giorgetto Giugiaro, in 1968 and his work on the Subaru SVX is discussed on the following page. The conceptual designs below not only predate those of the SVX but were also for different manufacturers, namely Lotus.
Suffice to say that in my opinion, the SVX was a development of conceptual designs that had already reached mock-up stage and was not a wholly new design. Two relevant designs are pictured to the right.
The
Medusa sedan, pictured to the right, is one that features split-windows in each of its four doors, a feature that was to reappear on the stillborn Subaru Amadeus version of the SVX but more notable is the
Etna.
The
Etna was a concept car developed for Lotus in 1984 and was initally destined for production and came with a 4 litre mid-mounted V8 developing 360BHP. Of greater note is the similarity between the Etna and the SVX, in terms of the two door design, floating roof and extended 'glasshouse' surrounding the cabin. In fact, a review of the period noted that
"the contrast between its upper and lower halves was emphazised by using thin, black-painted pillars, creating the impression of a transparent dome".
The design cues of the SVX in this regard are an exact match!
As will be seen in later pages, the similarities between the basic design elements of the Etna and SVX surely seem more than mere coincidence.
Indeed, a quick glance shows some similarities to the Subaru Vortex, especially with the 'drop line' behind the rear view mirror. This is also echoed in the SVX.