Some cars might turn heads when they appear as concepts, but for some reasons they don’t make it to the production and eventually fade into the history books. One such car was the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept that debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon in 2002.
Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept at the 2002 Tokyo Auto Salon
Why it got the “Hayabusa” name? Well because the concept borrowed the naturally aspirated 1.3-liter engine from the GSX-R1300R Hayabusa, one of the fastest production motorcycle. The inline four cylinder unit developed the same 175 hp and 139 Nm and was deployed in the CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic) bodied sports car with a front engine/ rear wheel drive layout.
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Although the engine output may seem inadequate for a sports car but it was more than enough considering the fact that the Hayabusa Sport concept was dubbed as the “ultimate lightweight sports car” by Suzuki as it weighed just 550 kg. It was way lighter than ordinary hatchbacks which usually weigh around 900kg or more.
The Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept
With looks reminiscent to that of TVR, the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept was a very small car as far as proportions were concerned. It was only 3,790 mm (149.2 inches) long, 1,760 mm (69.3 inches) wide, and just 1,100 mm (43.3 inches) tall. For the sake of comparison, the 2nd gen Swift we have here is 3,695mm long.
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Unfortunately the Hayabusa as a 4-wheeler sports car remained a concept. Suzuki never had any plans to put the car into production and in fact, was never tested on the track either.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
