Have you ever had a car in your life that you know is not all that great, but you still can’t quite avert your eyes from it? That’s how I feel about the Subaru XT. I owned one of these cars in the elusive combination of the flat-six engine with a 5-speed stick, and it was thoroughly underwhelming. However, there was something so captivating about that goofy “wedge” shape that I just can’t stop finding them fun to look at. It’s probably why I also like the blasted TVR 280i that Barn Finds reader Chuck Foster keeps sending me. Find this donated turbocharged XT here on eBay with bids to $260.
As a donation car, there’s no reserve, and of course, very little info. The XT was Subaru’s attempt to build a car that went beyond simply being a cheap 4WD runabout. All of the Japanese makers were experimenting at this point in time, trying to break out of their niche of simply building affordable, reliable cars. While sales indicated American consumers appreciated them for making ordinary vehicles that delivered extraordinary reliability, it was time to break into other markets where car shoppers would spend more money based on looks alone. In terms of being futuristic and sporty, the XT delivered.
The interior was your single best argument for evidence of Subaru being tired of its reputation for building a 4WD station wagon. The checkerboard seats, floating steering-wheel controls, digital gauge cluster, pistol-grip shifter, and angular dashboard treatment were downright mind-blowing for the era, especially for a Subaru. A wonky air suspension rounded out the whiz-bang features, but as I learned the hard way, there’s no modern retrofit for the elaborate shock absorbers when they inevitably go bad.
The EA82T engine is a 1.8L turbocharged mill that generates around 111 horsepower and 134 lb.-ft. of torque. While the XT6 is more powerful, I’ll tell you something cool about the turbocharged model: it sounds like a WRX. That’s right – it has the conventional Subaru “warble” that sounds even better with unequal length headers. One of my greatest disappointments with my XT6 (and there were many) was the fact that it didn’t sound like a Subaru. This turbocharged project car is a big gamble, but at the current bid, it’s worthy of a revival attempt.
Given the bid is $260 and there is only a day left, someone may just get a real deal. Don’t know much about the shocks you mention. Is there nothing available from the likes of Rock Auto, etc.?