Suzuki to join WRC?

The GTi was a Suzuki cult car for more than 10 years and Suzuki Australia believes it is important to get the best hot hatch available for its performance push with the new Swift. They wanted a real genuine performance car and Suzuki Australia general manager David Le Mottee knows Suzuki has a GTi on the way, and that it will be a significant advance on the Swift Sport. That could be a long wait. [I]This news is contributed by Evo8[/I]

[I]Suzuki's new Swift, the unexpectedly good supermini with the low price and the Mini-meets-Mégane looks, has spawned a souped-up sibling due for UK sale next June. It has an engine enlarged to 1.6 litres, a power output of 125bhp and we've been driving a prototype in Japan.[/I]

Suzuki has been on a roll – first it was the dynamic new Swift in late 2004, then the refined new Grand Vitara last year, and now it’s the mid-size SX4, the model that replaces the Liana hatchback. Because of its size, Suzuki has always had to do things differently, and think ‘out of the box’. In the case of the SX4, it is a handsomely styled and versatile ‘lifestyle’ hatchback. Hatchbacks are rare in the 1.6-litre segment, but this is a niche that Suzuki wants to dominate with the SX4. No expense has been spared on its styling, for instance, the SX4 having been penned by Giogretto Giugiaro of Italdesign. In fact, it is so well packaged that Fiat sells the exact same car as the Fiat Sedici. Always the innovator, Giugiaro has given the SX4 a tall and spacious body, but one that is well-proportioned and stylish as well. If the SX4 looks sporty, it is because it will form the basis for Suzuki’s World Rally Championship challenger, and a road-going ‘Sport’ version is probably in the works. As with the Swift and Grand Vitara, the quality and finish of the SX4 should be of an impressively high standard. Get more details of the SX4 at oneshift.com’s model by model coverage of Motorshow.