The Subaru B11S was a

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sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

made by

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

, introduced at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show.

Design

The model number "B11S" derives from B (for Boxer, referring to Subaru's horizontally-opposed engines), 11 (indicating a premium class), and S (for Sportive). The B11S featured four doors in a quad coupe arrangement, with the rear doors hinged at the rear in a manner similar to the

Mazda RX-8 The Mazda RX-8 is a sports car manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda between 2002 and 2012. It was first shown in 2001 at the North American International Auto Show. It is the successor to the RX-7 and, like its predecessors in ...

and

Saturn Ion The Saturn Ion is a compact car sold by Saturn between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2002, and was replaced by the new Saturn Astra in 2008. Production of the Ion ended on Ma ...

. The B11S was styled by a team led by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, with initial guidance provided by freshly-promoted President Kyoji Takenaka. Sugimoto had previously designed the first-generation

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sold ...

before heading the Subaru Design Department. Fuore Design International, led by

Erwin Leo Himmel Erwin Leo Himmel (born April 9, 1956 in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian automobile designer. He was one of the first designers who recognized the future importance of a consistent brand design in the automotive industry. Background Born as the se ...

, was retained in a consulting design role. Design elements created for the B11S, including the airplane-inspired grille, were intended to be carried into production vehicles.

Andreas Zapatinas Andreas Zapatinas (born 1957) is a Greek people, Greek automobile designer and industrial designer. Early life and education Zapatinas was born in Athens. He studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and graduated in 1986 ...

, Chief Designer of Advanced Design for Subaru, stated in an interview that "if you were to step back from the B11S and blur your eyes, that gives an indication of Subaru's future look," elaborating that "innovation, courage and individuality" would inform future Subaru designs.

Technical

The B11S features a

flat-6 A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is th ...

twin-turbo engine with a peak output of at 6,400 RPM and from 3,600 to 4,800 RPM. The 6-speed automatic transmission features Subaru's "Variable Torque Distribution" system, where the torque split between front and rear axles is distributed by a center differential and electronically-controlled clutch. Torque is split 35% to the front and 65% to the rear under normal driving conditions.

References

External links

* {{Subaru B11S Sports cars Coupés 2000s cars Cars introduced in 1999 Cars introduced in 2003 All-wheel-drive vehicles