Subdriven | The Subaru Enthuisast Website

When I was eight years old, I had a crush on my babysitter. Although her name now escapes me, there are three things I distinctly remember about her: she was a high school senior, she was a cheerleader, and she drove a car I had never heard of before. She must have been attractive to stay in my head after all these years, but perhaps I actually remember her because she was the first person I had ever known with a Subaru. Soon after we met the babysitter, we had a neighbor with a BRAT, which, with its rear-facing jump seats in the bed, proved to be a fun place for my brother and me to play.

We were living in West Virginia then, and a Subaru was a natural choice for the hilly terrain and four full seasons. It was the late ‘70s, and if you wanted four-wheel-drive, you either drove a Subaru or a full-size truck. Not since those glorious days of my youth, however, have I been much of a Subaru fan.

Don’t get me wrong; Subarus have always been marvelous mechanical packages, with their compact boxer engines and all-wheel-drive. But all of that wonderful hardware has always been wrapped in sheetmetal ranging from positively mundane to the absolutely bizarre to downright homely. Even the WRX STi, for all its amazing capabilities, is not often regarded as a handsome car.

I was comfortable with the fact that there might never be a genuinely attractive Subaru. But that all changed when the cover was removed from one of the company’s alternative-fuel concept vehicles at the 2004 North American International Auto Show. Beneath the requisite auto show “wraps” rested a beautiful two-seat roadster with styling that is both modern and classical at the same time. I was standing there looking at the B9SC, thinking, “This is a truly gorgeous Subaru.” I didn’t think it was possible.

The two concept vehicles Subaru chose to debut at the Detroit show express the carmaker’s future design direction. Drawing from the aircraft-building heritage of its parent company Fuji Heavy Industries, the B9SC roadster and the R1e city car both hint at what future Subaru production vehicles may look like. The new look represents a dramatic change from contemporary Subaru styling, but is key to the brand’s goals of moving into the premium segment of the market.

The most distinguishing design feature of any car is its front end, what automotive designers refer to as the “face” of a vehicle. As you know, the face identifies a person as a member of a certain family, or in the case of cars, a particular manufacturer. Perhaps more importantly than carrying the family resemblance, the face also expresses emotion. Clearly the front end styling of a car, its “corporate face”, plays a very important role in how buyers recognize and perceive it.

The most prominent element of the B9SC’s front end is certainly its grille treatment, which is split into three distinct sections. The center opening, with its heavily rounded trapezoidal shape, suggests the intake port of an early jet fighter plane. Flanking this central grille is a pair of wide lateral grilles, each of which resembles the cross-section of an airplane wing.

While these features are certainly aircraft inspired, they don’t look contrived or overdone, but rather lend a more classical feel, reminiscent of an Italian roadster of the late ‘50s or early ‘60s. Reinforcing this classic theme are a pair of subtle “power bulges” on the hood.

The B9SC also features highly contoured fenders that give the impression of larger wheels and a muscular overall appearance. The fenders are positioned at the corners of the car, adding to its powerful stance. The classic roadster shape flows to the back, where the rear deck slopes gently and tapers before cutting under in a classic ducktail silhouette.

So the B9SC is a beautiful design exercise, but what does it mean to the future of Subaru? In speaking with Andreas Zapatinas, who was recently named head of design, he stated that the roadster concept is purely a fantasy vehicle intended to generate emotion for the brand. While there are currently no plans to build the roadster, it does set the stage for a new era in design at the company.

According to Mr. Zapatinas, we can look for future Legacy, Impreza, and Forester models to make use of the new corporate face, especially the three-piece grille. Also likely to make it into production are the power bulges on the hood, which were visible on a crossover-type vehicle playing on a video at the Subaru booth in Detroit.

Other design cues likely to see the real world are the pronounced fender lines, which could replace the industrial look of the current flared fenders, and the uniquely shaped low-profile headlights. Future interiors may also draw their inspiration from the B9SC, which makes use of brushed aluminum and carbon fiber.

As new Subaru models replace their aging predecessors in the next few years, keep an eye open for elements from the B9SC. As Fred Adcock, Executive Vice-president of Subaru North America stated, the company’s goal is to go from a maker of cars that people need to cars that people desire. This new design language will be instrumental in achieving that. Who knows, there might be a Subaru in my future, even if the cheerleader will not.