With Subaru’s new Legacy just launched in South Africa, it’s perhaps fitting to turn our eyes to the Tokyo International Motor Show, where Subaru’s striking Hybrid Tourer Concept is one of the more eye-catching designs on display. It’s a dramatic, slightly retro design featuring a swept-back windscreen, height-adjustable dashboard and elongated gullwing-doors, all tapering into chunky C-pillars that give the car a purposeful, understated aggression to its stance.

What makes it special though is that it’s powered by the world’s first boxer engine-based hybrid powerplant. A 2.0-litre, horizontally-opposed, direct-injection turbocharged engine is linked to two electric motors to form a hybrid drivetrain, with electric motors driven by lithium-ion batteries. As with other hybrids, the petrol engine is used in normal driving conditions, but at lower speeds the rear electric motor drives the car. The forward electric motor kicks in to assist performance and efficiency.

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