Control of the crystallization front profile is of great importance for various aspects of bulk SiC crystal growth by physical vapor transport. The structural defect density, doping uniformity, and polytype stability are largely dependent on the profile evolution. In this paper, we consider the binary crystal growth from the multicomponent vapor and suggest a model of facet formation. The model is based on the microscopic consideration of the crystal growth by step-flow mechanism, with the step density dependent on the local front orientation with respect to the close-packed crystal planes. The growth kinetics employs the Burton-Cabrera-Frank approach extended to binary crystals and a multicomponent vapor. The model was implemented into the "Virtual Reactor" code and used to simulate the faceting during growth of the free-spreading bulk SiC crystals. The computations are compared with observations, providing a reasonable agreement between the theory and experiment. The developed approach can be readily extended to other materials grown from the vapor. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.