The current Subaru Forester is barely two years old, which in car-years means it’s still figuring out its personality. But that hasn’t stopped Subaru from wondering what comes next—or, more accurately, letting its fans and a handful of AI tools do the wondering for them.
As part of the Subaru School Festival 2025, held in Japan on November 23, the brand invited participants to generate futuristic Forester concepts using AI image generators. Subaru then filtered the submissions down to the ten most popular designs and put them up for a community vote. Think of it less as a formal design study and more as a sanctioned digital fever dream.
Because these concepts were likely created with little more than a few loosely worded prompts, artistic skill wasn’t required—only curiosity and a willingness to see what happens when you type “rugged future SUV” into a text box. The result is a lineup that ranges from mildly nostalgic to deeply unhinged, with Subaru’s current design language appearing only when the algorithm felt cooperative.
Some entries echo earlier Forester generations, others look like rejected auto-show concepts from the early 2010s, and a few seem completely detached from the physical laws governing sheet metal and crash regulations.
If we’re grading on the “could plausibly exist” curve, “Strength is Power” (No. 10) lands near the top. It’s relatively restrained, reads as an actual vehicle, and—depending on how charitable you’re feeling—might even look better than the Forester currently parked at your local dealership.
At the opposite end of the spectrum sits “Jungle Caveman” (No. 8), a concept that appears to have been designed during a particularly vivid camping trip. It features wooden fangs protruding from the grille, an axe mounted to the roof rack, and body panels that look less stamped and more quarried.
The middle ground is filled with concepts that feel like inside jokes made visible. “Chocolate Banana” (No. 5) resembles a birthday cake scaled up to SUV proportions, while “Cucumber House” (No. 7) leans hard into a botanical theme, complete with a leaf-shaped hood accent and a grille that wouldn’t look out of place in a greenhouse.
For those who believe every vehicle should look fast—regardless of whether it exists—“Black Thunder” (No. 3) and “Subalist” (No. 6) offer the closest thing to performance-focused Foresters. Not that speed matters much when the drivetrain is imaginary. Meanwhile, “Sky Tree” (No. 4) channels Cadillac’s more angular design era, as if someone slipped an Escalade mood board into the prompt.
“The Time Machine” (No. 1) may be the most unsettling of the bunch, featuring hypnotic headlights that feel less like illumination and more like a warning. It raises legitimate questions about what happens when the machines decide visibility should be optional.
“The Drill” (No. 2) looks ready to bore straight through rush-hour traffic with its aggressively pointed grille, while “Safe Money” (No. 9) resembles a Subaru Ascent crossed with a high-security vault—ideal if your primary concern is protecting assets rather than passengers.
Regardless of where you land on the spectrum between amused and alarmed, Subaru deserves credit for opening the door and letting its fan base play designer for a day. Voting is open exclusively to registered members of Subaru’s online community.
If you have a Subaru ID, strong opinions, and a tolerance for AI-generated chaos, you can log into the Suba Studies Office and vote for the concept that best represents your preferred blend of creativity, confusion, and controlled anarchy.
Source: Subaru via Facebook