QotW: What should we do with the Subaru X-100

Recently, we wrote about the Subaru X-100 concept currently in the care of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. Subaru has decided to loan Fuji Heavy Industries’ record-setting 100 mpg experimental car for a whopping five years. The museum director would like to display it at concours events. As the guy who keeps the cars running at the museum, I can tell you we’re planning on going through the car mechanically so that it’s safe to drive in a closed setting — at least by the standards of experimental three-wheeled cars, a genre in which we have more than our fair share of experience. Personally, I would like to do something with the X-100 and another of our Tremulis-designed cars, the 1967 Gyro-X.

What should we do with the Subaru X-100?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Has anyone tried to buy your JNC?

Last week’s QotW came with tales of tragedy (like that of Darcy Coultis‘ dearly departed AE86), comeuppance (like that of Yuri‘s Hachiroku coupe, and loyalty (like that of Jeremy A‘s 280ZX). The winner, though, is Dave‘s tale of nostalgia:

I have a low-mileage (42k mi), stock 1980 red RX-7 GS. Yes, the one with the optional 5-speed with a black vinyl interior. So naturally, I get many offers to buy it. I’ve even had a guy cut me off before a stop sign—and right before I was able to roll down my windows to give him a piece of my mind—and tell me how much he loved my car and ask how much I’d let it go for (the answer is no price in the world). Invariably, as it is with these kind of endearing-but-not-quite-hot JNCs, the price offered barely covers the previous stock part I had to scour the world for.

But offers aside, it’s the stories that come after my polite decline that makes these cars so awesome. Once, the owner of a custom neon light shop came out to say how he and his father used to work on their ‘79 and took road trips together. In a surprise to the owner, BOTH of his long-time employees also came out and revealed that they, too, had first-gen RX-7s in their childhood.

There I was, watching three gentlemen reminisce about their youth and revving my 100-hp 12a for their aural pleasure. It was only a 15-minute interaction, but they left with a happier connection to each other and I left with a sense of pride and responsibility.

Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.

JNC Decal smash

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9 Responses to QotW: What should we do with the Subaru X-100

  1. Sean K says:

    The obvious answer is to finally make the long-overdue cross-country journey!

    Start – California (not sure if Subaru has a tech center there any more – maybe a local dealer?)
    End – SoA HQ in New Jersey
    Approx 2,700mi trip

  2. Jesse C. says:

    Jump Snake River!

  3. Nigel says:

    Call Ultraman…he can figure it out !!

  4. Catbus says:

    While accomplishing the original goal of the cross-country journey would be the most fitting solution it might be easier to just repeat the track test with the one-gallon tank since it’d be more feasible to find a track than deal with all the logistics and expenses of driving cross-country in what’s after all an irreplaceable vehicle. Also, it’d be interesting to see how much of a difference the past 39 years of advances in modern gasoline processing makes and whether a “bit of a lightweight” driver is indeed needed to achieve that last half lap!!

  5. Kevin says:

    Next time Elon wants to send a car to space, just put a rocket in the tail of this thing and send it.

  6. Catbus says:

    Following up on my earlier comment, another idea might be for the Lane Motor Museum to use the track time for driving the X-100 on the one-gallon tank as an opportunity for fund-raising by selling driving time to donors, à la their annual rallies (a few years ago one of my siblings generously gave me as a 50th birthday present a spot in one such rally where I chose and drove the museum’s iconic 1959 Citroën DS, not a JNC but immensely cool nonetheless.)

  7. Have seen it at the LMM. As for what to do with it, leave it there ?. By chance, first this car have a chassis number of some sort?

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