 
 
The Subaru XT was a 2-door coupé that was produced from 1985 to 1991.
 
The name Alcyone was used in Japan, the Vortex name was used in Australia and New Zealand,
and the name XT (with the four-cylinder EA-82 engine) or XT6 (using the ER-27 six-cylinder engine),
was sold in North America and Europe.
 
All were available in front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, depending on the year.
 
The Subaru XT was launched in February 1985 in the American market, followed by a June debut in Japan.
 
The Alcyone name comes from the brightest star in the Pleiades star cluster, on which the Subaru logo is based.
 
The XT range was replaced by the Subaru SVX in 1992.
 
By the time the XT was launched, Subaru had already produced vehicles with very different styling compared to other vehicles of the time period.
 
The XT, first introduced in February 1985 in the United States (June 1985 in Japan),
was a wedged-shaped departure from the 1970s-influenced curves of the previous models, aimed directly at the styles emerging in the 1980s.
 
The extreme wedge body shape was possible due to the engine's flat horizontally opposed cylinder layout shared by all Subarus in 1985.
 
Extensive wind tunnel testing was used to lower wind resistance and even "aircraft type" door handles were used that were totally flush with the outside of the door.
 
To open the door, it was required to push a hinged panel out of the release mechanism's opening.
 
The inside of the car had many aircraft-like features such as pod mounted lighting, climate control and wiper controls.
 
The standard tilting-telescoping steering moved the instrument panel to keep it lined up with the steering column when tilting.
 
Although the XT was available with a turbocharged engine, performance from the 111 hp (83 kW) powerplant wasn't very competitive internationally.
 
In 1987, Subaru introduced the XT6 as a 1988 model with the 145 hp (108 kW) 2.7 L flat-six ER27.
 
The XT6 received additional upgrades, including heavier suspension to handle the larger engine and 5-bolt hubs and wheels to accommodate the extra torque.
 
The XT6 was also fitted with a unique Cybrid adaptive electrohydraulic steering system that changed the level of assistance based on the vehicle's speed.
 
This system did not use a conventional belt-driven power steering pump, freeing up much-needed space in the XT6's already cramped engine bay.
 
The Cybrid system also uses hydraulic fluid that is incompatible with conventional power steering fluid (which is usually automatic transmission fluid).
 
This fluid is still available directly from Subaru at a significant premium over more common types of hydraulic fluid.
 
The XT6 has two electric fans to also help performance, compared to one electric fan and one belt driven fan on all other XTs.
 
With these changes, the XT6 was given a higher amp alternator.
 
The XT6 was not available with the digital instrument cluster of the turbo XT models.
 
In the Japanese market, the XT6 was sold as the Alcyone VX.
 
No front wheel drive Alcyone VXs were ever sold in Japan, and virtually no XT6s were sold in New Zealand.
 
At least one example of an XT6, sold in New Zealand as the "Vortex ZZ6", is still on the road today.
 
Subaru New Zealand did however bring in an XT6 as a demo, but as New Zealand's fuel options were 91 octane unleaded fuel or 96 octane leaded fuel,
it was not a viable option to sell the XT6 as the 2700 cc 6 Cyl engine required 96 octane unleaded petrol.
 
Both the regular XT and the XT6 were discontinued after 1991 and were replaced by the much larger Subaru Alcyone SVX.
The SVX continued the tradition of surprising gadgetry in a sporty coupe, albeit in a much heavier and more powerful package.
 
