The Subaru Baja Turbo Was A WRX-Inspired Flatbed Flop

The buzz surrounding the new Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz proves there’s plenty of interest in small pick-up trucks right now. Certainly, more than there was at Subaru dealers when the company launched the bizarre Baja back in 2002.

Essentially a Legacy or Outback wagon with the rear end replaced with a truck bed in an attempt to update the classic Subaru Brat concept, the Baja was previewed by a 2000 LA Auto Show design study, the ST-X, those letters standing for Sport Truck Experimental.

Apart from the definitely “experimental” styling that found its way onto the production car and made the thing appear in profile like a bad Chinese knock-off of a Ford Crown Vic, Subaru’s mini truck had a couple of major problems. First, despite the Baja measuring 6-inches longer than a Legacy, the bed area was a tiny 41.5 inches long, which limited its carrying capacity. And being a unibody machine, its 2400-lb towing capability was miles off that of a more traditional body-on-frame truck.

And if that wasn’t enough to put utility buyers off, the Baja was also expensive and slow, at least with the stock 165-hp naturally aspirated 2.5-liter flat-four. Stepping forward to remedy that for the 2004 model year was the Baja Turbo, which junked the atmo 2.5 for a turbocharged version that made a useful 210 horses and 235 lb-ft of twist.

The same engine in the Forester sent Car & Driver’s manual-equipped 2.5XT to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, but hamstrung by a four-speed automatic the Baja Turbo test car was 2 seconds slower. A few were fitted with manual transmissions, but most, like this immaculate 47,000-mile example strutting its stuff on Bring-a-Trailer, came with the auto.

Finished in one-color Atlantic Blue Pearl, rather the two-tone color schemes most came in to makes sense of the weird body cladding, this one looks like it’s never hauled anything more onerous than a bed full of fresh air in its 15 years. But with the bed extender fitted you could make it earn its keep if you were feeling particularly cruel.

At launch, Subaru talked about potentially selling 24,000 Bajas every year, but in fact, it took almost four years to reach that target, and only 30,000 had found homes by the time production ended. They’ve gained a kind of cult appeal in the years since, though, garnering the same kind of fascination usually preserved for the freakishly shaped vegetables your grocery store chain tries to make sure you never see.

If you want to get your hands on this strange, but beautifully preserved turnip of a car-truck, get your bids in before November 2.