The new Subaru concept called the Subaru Hybrid Tourer has twin gullwing doors! Apparently the designers penned the concept after imagining “wings of freedom” giving its driver and his family a feeling of freedom and confidence in driving the vehicle.

Developed over many years around the Subaru’s core technology of “Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD)” and “Horizontally-Opposed Boxer Engine”, into the integration of a luxurious and high-quality cabin atmosphere and an eye-catching sculpted body. The fuel efficient Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept gets the majority of its power from the refined flat four; but the electric motors, making 27 HP up front and 13 HP in the rear, provide an additional boost and make the new Subaru capable of operating round town as a zero emission vehicle.

A lithium-ion battery supplies power to a motor/generator in the front and an additional motor in the rear that can operate by itself during low-speed maneuvers. Both motors can be deployed independently to assist the gas engine and retain Subaru’s trademark all-wheel drive. Under normal driving, the gasoline engine is the primary source of propulsion. It’s equipped with a start/stop function to conserve fuel at idle.

During the Tokyo show, Subaru confirmed its intention to bring a hybrid to market in 2012, although a company rep said that the company wouldn’t be creating a new hybrid-only model—like the Toyota Prius—or a separate hybrid brand. Basically, look for hybrid tech like that shown here to show up in an existing model.

The Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept also features a unique driver assist system called EyeSight that provides with vehicle to vehicle and road to vehicle communication technology. The program includes a collision prevention support system that uses a unique stereoscopic camera that is capable of recognizing a wide variety of driving obstacles with the goal of improving passenger safety and providing drivers with peace of mind touring.

Subaru’s idea behind this concept was to display a “new proposal for the future of grand touring cars.” We’ve always preferred our GT cars with big power up front driving the rear wheels, so this concept may be a bit of a stretch of the term. That aside, it offers a glimpse of Subaru’s hybrid intentions, and we’re thankful those intentions appear to take into account driving enjoyment, another critical “point of the ideal grand touring car.”

Subaru tells us “the top of the dashboard is movable up and down for an optimal driving environment for the driver according to driving conditions.” In a nutshell, the entire dash moves when the steering column is adjusted. Also, the floor is flat in the rear and the concept’s windshield has a special anti-eyestrain coating. The company says the interior is designed in large part to show how much space can be utilized in a vehicle this size.

The Hybrid Tourer concept’s styling has an overall sleek appearance that reminds us of a stretched Impreza hatch wearing Subaru’s new corporate grille; we’re told the look points the way to a more unified design language for the Subie lineup. The gullwing doors are all the rage on design exercises these days, although we’d prefer they be used sparingly by the companies that actually intend to send them into production.