One interesting quirk about the massive industrial giants in Japan and South Korea is how different branches of the same company can sometimes influence each other in surprising ways. That seems to be the case with Subaru’s latest patent filing.
Instead of sticking with a traditional piston engine to charge the battery in an extended-range electric vehicle, Subaru’s idea is to use a turbine engine. Yes, you read that right—a turbine engine. It’s an unusual approach, but it shows how even established automakers are willing to explore outside-the-box solutions when it comes to future EV technology.
Subaru Has Plenty Of Jet Turbine Experience
Subaru and jet turbines might sound like an odd pairing, but there’s actually some logic behind it. While the automaker doesn’t manufacture turbines on its own, Subaru’s aerospace division has years of experience working with them. This is the same branch of the company responsible for building aircraft like the Fuji T-7 trainer and even helicopters such as the AH-64DJP—essentially a licensed version of the US Apache—and the Bell-based 412EPX.
Of course, whatever Subaru is cooking up for an extended-range EV won’t resemble those aircraft engines. Still, that background in aerospace likely gives the company the confidence to at least explore the idea of adapting turbine technology for cars.
Subaru’s reasoning for exploring a turbine as a range extender actually makes a lot of sense. Turbine engines have a higher power-to-weight ratio than piston engines, and they can be packaged more compactly. They’re also known for reliability, efficiency, and having fewer moving parts to break. In some cases, turbines can even produce cleaner emissions than Subaru’s own boxer-fours, thanks to more complete combustion.
Of course, there are drawbacks—ones that doomed past experiments like the Chrysler Turbine Car back in the 1950s. Turbines can be extremely loud, generate dangerously hot exhaust, and aren’t efficient at idle. They also take longer to start up, which isn’t ideal for everyday driving.
According to a WIPO filing uncovered by DrivingOnRoad, Subaru’s engineers are working on ways to solve those issues. If they succeed, the patent notes that “the turbine engine is a compact and light-weight engine as compared with a so-called reciprocating engine, and is advantageous for mountability and fuel economy.” In other words, Subaru sees real potential here—if the kinks can be ironed out.
At the core of Subaru’s patent is one big challenge: the long startup times turbines are known for. That’s the bottleneck that creates several of the other issues, like poor idle efficiency and excessive noise. Solve the startup lag, and suddenly those problems start to fade.
In other words, Subaru’s engineers aren’t just playing with an exotic idea for the sake of it. They’re targeting the turbine’s biggest weakness head-on. If they can crack that code, a turbine-powered range extender could move from wild concept to something that genuinely works in the real world.
Electric Motor Makes Turbine Starting Faster And More Efficient
Subaru’s clever solution takes a page straight from today’s piston-powered hybrids. In their setup, the same electric generator that the turbine uses to recharge the battery can also spin the turbine up to operating speed. It’s essentially the same trick hybrid cars already use with their engines—when the engine is off, the generator kicks in to bring it up to idle almost instantly, skipping the slow, drawn-out cranking you’d get from a traditional 12-volt starter.
It works because every electric motor can also act as a generator, and vice versa, depending on how the current flows. By applying that principle here, Subaru’s engineers could eliminate one of the biggest drawbacks of turbine engines and make them much more practical for use in cars.
Most of Subaru’s patent filing dives into the control systems that orchestrate the turbine, motor, and generator. It outlines how sensors and modules decide when to start or stop each component, ensuring the turbine isn’t just firing in short bursts but running long enough to meaningfully recharge the battery once it’s up to speed.
Interestingly, the setup requires a secondary 12V battery pack, just like those already found in gas, hybrid, and electric cars. This smaller pack powers the generator during turbine startup, preventing a dead main battery from leaving the car stranded without a way to fire up the turbine.
While this approach doesn’t eliminate every drawback of turbine engines, it does address one of the biggest hurdles: slow startup times. In theory, it could offer a more practical solution than Mazda’s Wankel rotary-powered range extender.
Still, it’s worth remembering that patent filings don’t guarantee production. Automakers often file to secure intellectual property, with no immediate plans to bring the idea to market. For now, Subaru’s turbine hybrid remains a concept on paper—but one that hints at an intriguing alternative to conventional range-extender designs.
FAQ’s
1. Will Subaru have a hybrid in 2026?
Yes — Subaru is rolling out more hybrids in 2026. For example, the Crosstrek Hybrid will arrive for the 2026 model year with a next-generation hybrid system. Also, a hybrid version of the Forester is expected around that time.
2. Does Subaru have any hybrids for 2025?
Yes. For 2025, Subaru introduced the Forester Hybrid. It uses a 2.5-liter BOXER engine with electric motors. It improves fuel economy (especially in city driving) over regular Forester models.
3. Is Subaru planning on making a hybrid?
Yes — beyond the Forester and Crosstrek, Subaru has stated that more of its lineup will become electrified or hybrid in the coming years. They already announced multiple new EVs, and hybrids are part of their transition plan.
4. What is the Subaru Legacy redesign 2026?
Actually, there isn’t a 2026 redesign — because the Subaru Legacy sedan is being discontinued. Subaru has officially ended production of the Legacy after the 2025 model year in the U.S. There are no new Legacy sedan models planned beyond 2025.