Superseding the company's aviation-influenced XT range, the Alcyone SVX was Subaru's first entry into the luxury/performance market, and was noted for its aircraft-inspired 'window-within-a-window' side-glass configuration.

The nameplate "Alcyone" (pronounced "al-SIGH-uh-nee")[1] refers to the brightest star in the Pleiades constellation, stylized in the Subaru company logo.

The Subaru Alcyone SVX debuted as a concept at the 1989 Tokyo Auto Show[2] with styling by noted Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign.

[4] From 1991 to 1992, Subaru displayed the Amadeus, a prototype shooting brake variation on the SVX, in both two- and four-door versions, which was considered for production.

The previous generation Subaru Alcyone had a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but the larger EG33 was more powerful and so a turbo was not installed.

Internally, the engine is essentially a six-cylinder variant of the EJ22 found in the first-generation Japanese market Legacy and Impreza.

[citation needed] A more advanced system called VTD (variable torque distribution), was used on SVX for sale in Japan, Europe and Brazil.

[citation needed] The clutch is incorporated to prevent and suppress any differential action that may occur as the planetary gear will send virtually all torque to the axle with the highest speed if not restrained.

By using a similar logic to the previous ACT system, the clutch can theoretically direct any percentage of torque to either axle, but in practice the variation remains between 34-50% front and 64-50% rear.

This prevented VTD as an option on Subaru vehicles offered for sale in US until passenger car regulations were changed, which occurred long after the end of svx production.

[citation needed] The Japanese-spec "SVX L" received four-wheel steering in 1991 and 1992 (model code "CXD" of which 1,905 were built).

[citation needed] In Japan, the SVX was the first Subaru to exceed government dimension regulations with regards to the vehicles exterior measurements.

The SVX also obligated Japanese buyers to pay more annual road tax which limited sales due to the engine displacement.

As a result, in Japan the SVX was considered a luxury vehicle and was equipped appropriately with one-touch climate control, leather interior, front seats that were both electrically adjustable and heated, a single-disc CD player coupled with a Panasonic AM/FM stereo system, that was hidden behind a retractable panel, and a remote-controlled infrared keyless entry with security system.

[15] Subaru introduced the SVX in the United States in July 1991 (as a 1992 model), following the US debut with a Japanese market introduction in September of that same year.

In 1991, a Subaru SVX, driven by Ken Knight and Bob Dart, won the Alcan Winter Rally,[16] a race starting in Seattle to the Arctic Circle and back.