Copy of jamsvx2 yahoo page

[subbieatnz]

Originally Posted by SVXdc

Yahoo is shutting down their geocities service on October 26, 2009. So someone should archive anything important there.

Introduction

This section of the site is dedicated to the SVX as it emerged from prototype concept vehicle to fruition as a road vehicle. In my opinion, there are not many cars that have made it from concept to road without many changes...the SVX is notable for its similarity to the original concept and only lately do the Mercedes SLK and Porsche Boxster join that club....and they look quite conventional in my opinion.

The information on the prototype is extremely difficult to obtain but there is a fair amount of information in the Road and Track Guide, much of which is reproduced here, along with bits and pieces that turn up. An example is the postcard to the right - thanks to Mike in Germany for that.





A member of the SVX Network was lucky enough to obtain images from Italdesign of some initial design concepts from the mid-1980's for the SVX. One of them is reproduced below and the others are promised by him soon!!! As I said earlier, it is amazing how striking the car looks today and the minimal change to the original concept of the 1980's! How many cars can say that?

[subbieatnz]

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.

[subbieatnz]

SVX Prototype



As discussed on the preceding page, although the SVX was, and indeed remains, a radical design for production car, many of its design fetures are not unique and it is my opinion that a number of Giugario designs, specifically the Etna prototype, not only predate the SVX in concept but in addition, predate it as a wholly original concept. Before you email me with abuse, such an opinion is firstly subjective but secondly, such a view means that one can trace the heritage of the SVX past the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show and past the 1986 concept (below) till it can be seen how little the design has changed from original concept to actual production model to as far back as the Etna in 1984. In 2001 as I write this, how many car designs 17 years old can stop traffic for its futuristic looks? If you can answer that, then feel free to email me!


SVX Concepts

Quite a few pictures here have been scanned from the Road and Track publication on the SVX and others I have obtained from the Net. Again, credit to those sources whose names and sites have long dimmed in my memory but let me know and I will cite you!



I cannot get a larger scan of the image to the above or right but they illustrate the emergence of the SVX from the Vortex of 1985 to the 1991 production model at the far right of the timeline. The image on the bottom right of the above image is of the prototype that appeared at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show and I have scanned in images from the SVX Concept Brochure for your enjoyment further down the page.



These concept sketches clearly show a more rounded and in my opinon, less aggressive concept. However, a lot of the styling cues do seem similar, especially on the sketches marked with a 1) and a 2), to the Mazda Eunos JC Cosmo 3 rotor.

To save space and bandwith, go to www.3rotor.com for some detailed pictures and compare!

[subbieatnz]

SVX Concept Emerges - Legacy of the Etna?

In comparison to the concept sketches on the previous page, these 3 sketches show a more defined and 'edge-concept' profile much closer to that of the model that entered production. However, a comparison between the top image, the 1986 ItalDesign SVX concept design and the 1984 Lotus Etna concept, again by Italdesign, are markedly similar!






1984 Lotus Etna Concept by Italdesign

When comparing the SVX concept to that of the Etna, not only is there the aforementioned similarity in the design of the floating glasshouse but in addition, the lines of the designs are also extremely similar, especially with regards the pop-up headlights of the Etna and the 1986 SVX Concept. The sharp and agressive bulge over the rear wheel arch is not only present in 1984 but extends through the 1986 concept all the way to the production model.



SVX Turbo Concept & Full Scale Concept Models

As can be seen on the image of the 1986 concept, there appears below the C-pillar the script 'AWD Turbo'. This is also seen in the full size clay models detailed below and absent the pop-up headlights. Flame wars have erupted amongst SVX fans debating the existance of the Turbo SVX - it does not exist! This issue is discussed in greater detail in the technical section of the site.


The 'Maestro'



As most of you will have observed, the full-size clay mock-up does not possess a rear spoiler. Many owners with the spoiler have taken them off and are variously of the opinion that visibility is improved and/or the SVX looks better that way.

Advocates of sans spoiler have argued that it was Giugario who designed it without the spoiler and Subaru designers, in their own mind 'knowing better', added it! Such advocates argue that sans spoiler is closer to what Giugario intended and that he was not happy with the tacked on spoiler.

As the photos demonstrate, Giugario had an active role in the styling beyond the concept stage and was a regular visitor to Japan to supervise the project.

[subbieatnz]

Turbo SVX?



These two photos from the Road and Track Guide were for many months, the bane of SVX owners as debate raged furiously about the existance of the turbo SVX. Although a lot of cars in Japan have turbocharged engines as an option, the lack of any data on a turbo SVX engine is perhaps the most conclusive prove of the lack of a forced induction SVX.

Rumour has it that it was tried but abandoned due to the problems that the transmission had in coping with the existing power.



Also from the November 1991 issue of Car Styling, these two shots depict the '4WD Turbo' liveried SVX from the R&T Guide but, when compared to the earlier 4WD Turbo concepts below, this is much closer to the production
SVX, featuring the integrated headlight assemblt although this is sans spoiler. The retractable headlight concept below, also styled as a 4WD Turbo, are featured both with and without a rear spoiler.


In any event, the additional photo's below show an earlier styling exercise of the SVX, complete with '4WD Turbo' livery just below the C-pillar. These photos were obtained from the November 1991 issue of Car Styling.




As can be seen, this earlier concept features not only the 4WD Turbo livery but also the retractable headlight assemblies. These were abandoned on the basis that when operational, such as in northern European countries with mandatory headlights at all time, the aerodynamic and visual aspects of the SVX would be unduly compromised.

This concept also shows the early theme of "lens to lens" were the front and rear of the car were sought to be balanced. This was done through mirroring the wrap-around rear light lens with the front indicators which were also of a wrap-around design. Of these two design elements, only the rear wrap-around lights made it to final production.

[subbieatnz]

Air Intake Design Evolution



These series of photos show that a large portion of the concept car now nearly mirrors that of the production model and is of the 'wide-body' evolution.

Two things are of note. Relevantly, the above concept features integrated headlghts and a lens to lens garnish. This was changed, as seen below, due to insufficent air reaching the engine bay. Additionally, at first glance this does not appear to possess a spoiler but closer inspection of the photo on the right shows a spoiler that was integrated with the flat deck but designed in such as way as to facilitate rear vision.



As a result of the inadequate engine bay cooling discussed above, the front bumper was provided with a slat air intake but this also proved insufficent so a two similar grills wereintegrated between the front lens.

The grill on the left (above) is more clearly seen in the photograph to the right where the SVX is shown with a similar Gran Tourer, the Porsche 928. The 'edge styling' of the SVX is especially evident compared to the more fluid lines of the 928 and the flared arches of the SVX clearly highlight the result of moving to the 'wide-body' platform rather than the narrow platfrom that is evident in earlier photographs.





This front grill was an evolution of that pictured above and lost the central 6-star Subaru emblem in addition to having an inversion of the air-intake shape.

However, it was found that the inversion resulted in air that hit the top (wider) part of the inlet 'bouncing' up onto and across the bonnet, and away from the actual air-intake.
This was remedied as seen in the photograph below by inverting that aspect again to a designt that was found to catch the air more efficently. This was the final evolution that made it to the production model.

[Pierre-Olivier]

Renault was copied SVX, damn it !

[BoxerFanatic]

wow.

Who knew something similar to SVX could be so horrific?

[Pierre-Olivier]

Yes, Lada 110, 111.

[BoxerFanatic]

That one isn't too bad at all.

The rest are kinda odd. Some seem to have split windows just to have them, not because the roofline and glass size requires it, as SVX does.

The sport coupe kinda looks like a bit of XR4Ti/Sierra. I like the hatchback, and mid-wing.

[Pierre-Olivier]

Citroën BX 4TC 4WD 1986.