As some longer-term readers may recall, I owned a 1988 Subaru XT6 for a brief period. It was brief because the car was hilariously bad; it was a loser of a project in every way. That said, I still can’t help but ogle them when one comes up for sale, just like the first time I realized such a car existed. This 1988 Subaru XT Turbo is the four-cylinder variant that in some ways, makes more sense to buy owing to its drivetrain being shared across a variety of Subaru models. It’s listed here on eBay in the UK for £4,995.00.
The looks still get me, every time. For a company like Subaru to produce such a bonkers-looking model, it still seems somewhat unfeasible today. This was a company that built little wagons and hatchbacks, and suddenly they roll out what looked like a concept car for the streets featuring either a flat-six or turbocharged four-cylinder; air suspension; four wheel drive; digital gauge clusters; pop-up headlights; and so many other one-off features. It’s a shame the driving experience didn’t match the aesthetics, because every other box was checked.
The turbocharged models were the only ones you could get the optional cluster with, and it looked like something straight out of a 1980s Atari game. This car has the standard analog gauges (bummer), but the upside is they’re much less likely to fail. The interior is in good shape and it sounds like based on the description that this Subaru was taken off the road as a project and left idle for several years. The automatic is a bummer in this instance, especially given the peaky nature of a 1980s turbocharged engine. The gauge pod and steering wheel are still one of the craziest combos you’ll see in a production car.
The turbocharged powerplant in some ways is a better choice than the six-cylinder like my car had. The XT6 was the only Subaru model sold in the states to have that engine, so parts sourcing was an absolute nightmare. This engine likely needs a rebuild, as Subarus were eating headgaskets even back in the 1980s. The engine itself is also quite filthy, but that can be fixed. The seller notes he has a manual car as well that is quite rusty, so perhaps a package deal can be arranged if you’re looking for a transmission swap.
Good lord it looks as if the engine was dredged from the ocean. The early engines did not suffer from head gasket issues. That doesn’t mean they didn’t leak oil. I know the one I worked on leaked from every seal. They were hard as rocks as the parts used didn’t cope well to heat cycling. It was quite the technical tour de force but had no heart kind of like driving a game controller. Still a interesting piece of history when Subaru was trying to create a name and image for itself. They did the reboot with the SVX and again strike 2. WRC turned out to be the image Subaru needed and the WRX Sti saved the day,
The last affordable 2 door subaru(1991?) – terrible they forced 4 door onlys on singles ever since.
Looks to me as an hybrid between a Prelude and a Buick Reatta.
Not seen this often on the canadian roads.
I doubt they have had any offers.
Luved the tv commercials for this XT. (back when commercials were bearable)
Farmer finds it in a barn……’It’s one of them their spaceships’
Not to mention this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ01QcFuQ8U
“I thought we agreed you’d buy a Subaru…”
“…but Dad, I did!”
I love those old commercials too.
If you have about 15 minutes, here is a great recent take on the XT. It was designed by aerodynamic engineers and contained a lot of advances that would become features on cars in the future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViiJIYn6slo
I ordered one when I saw the advanced picture of an XT being tested in Germany in Autoweek. I got one off the the first boat load. Picked it up in Southern Ohio on my way to a trade show in Atlantic City. I encountered a 5 series BMW in the mountains in West Virginia and managed to hang with it for several miles. It was a great 90mph cruiser. At 60,000 miles I hit an industrial flywheel that had fallen off a semi. I was doing 90 and was passing between two semi’s south of Detroit. It blew both right side tires and bent the rear suspension. I traded for a new DL 4wd wagon but I bought a total of 5 used XT’s for myself and sons later.
The turbo 4’s had an issue with cracking cylinder heads since owners were too cheap to spring for the 91 octane fuel.
Haha loser project… It’s not the project that is the loser…