Suzuki motorcycles are big sellers and well known in the marketplace, Suzuki cars, not so much. They have been trying to get a little motorcycle magic to rub off on their automotive line with TV ads where both appear side by side but at the SEMA show, this SXForce show car was on display where they figured if keeping the cars close to the motorcycles was good, mixing the parts and pieces was even better.
The car began as a Suzuki SX4, which I’m not really familiar with but they added things like exhaust pipes from the GSX-R, motorcycle gauges and the handlebars from a Hayabusa.
OK, it’s just a show car but I can imagine getting a few short circuits in my brain trying to drive a car with handlebars. They still have the usual foot controls so you would be twisting a non functional throttle and grabbing for a brake lever when you should be hitting the pedal. Plus, that would have to be really quick steering unless those bars just spin around like a regular steering wheel.
Completely wrong is the auto engine. You would think if they were going with a motorcycle theme and Hayabusa handlebars they would use the engine, too. Their show car has 250 horsepower, a well massaged turbo Busa could give them 400 horses or more. Car people, … go figure.
Link: Popular Mechanics
PigIron says
Any Hayabusa engine that produces anything near 400 horsepower needs to be rebuilt every few runs. Even MotoGP engines, which are not tuned to such insane levels as drag race or LSR bikes, only last a few hundred miles at best before they need to be overhauled.
kneeslider says
These are show cars, they only have to run, they don’t have to last. Heck, some of them, don’t even run.
Tanshanomi says
Sticking bike parts on a car is like putting a bra on Schwarzenegger: there might be an obviously correct place to put it, and it might even fit, but it still doesn’t make any sense.
Erik says
The handlebar steering looks incredibly awkward and kind of stupid. This just looks like a poorly thought out concept that should have stayed on the computer screen.
todd says
it’s a quad.
-todd
Alex says
I work at a japanese company. If you would know, how real japanese companies are organized, you would give standing ovations just for the fact that they are able to set up something that out of line.
Furthermore, the guys responsible for such exhibitions (read sales staff) have never ever studied or worked in a technology related field.
The last guy I dealt with about chemical processing machinery managed a pizzeria before that job…
Anyway, this SXF thing is stupid as hell 😉