SUBARU

Japan Mobility Show: Subaru Sport Mobility and Air Mobility, one for the road and one for the air

To anyone who casually visited the Japan Mobility Show, it might have seemed like a strange-looking UFO was about to land on top of a futuristic two-door coupe with narrow headlights and a rugged appearance. In fact, this is how Subaru showed two vehicles at the Japanese event - one for the road and one for the air. These are Sport Mobility and Air Mobility.

While Subaru made no mention of the 1990s SVX in regards to the Sport Mobility concept, we can certainly notice all sorts of similarities. Both are sizable two-door coupes with narrow headlights. Both are curiously strange.

None of them seem to fit neatly into a specific automotive genre. For example, the Sport Mobility Concept isn't as tall as a typical SUV, but it has an odd robustness that fits that genre. It's also neither a pure coupe nor a pure crossover. Will it somehow connect with the Air Mobility Concept and take off?

The answer to that last question is no. These two concepts were presented together because each of them represents “more freedom in mobility”. Thus, the Sport Mobility Concept is advertised as a battery-electric car that is pleasant to drive anywhere, at any time and in any conditions.

Unfortunately, Subaru did not provide details on how this concept moves around the city. However, it has a low driving position, with the seat mounted in the center of the cabin, all for a pleasant driving experience. It is certainly an interesting vehicle, but also strange, as the SVX was in the past.

This prototype looks very long in profile, and although the body panels are a bit bulky, the roof sits quite low. The side glass doesn't have segmented windows like the old SVX, but the concept's wraparound windshield creates a similar overall appearance. Combine all of this with the weird seats, weird wheels, and narrow headlights, and you might think someone on the Subaru design team had the early 1990s in mind when designing this vehicle.

The Sport Mobility Concept was presented as a display model, so it is not expected to enter the production phase. As for the Air Mobility Concept, it has six rotor blades surrounding a small cabin. It's also strictly a prototype, but Subaru says engineers from its aerospace and automotive divisions are collaborating to conduct flight demonstrations.