Media Reviews... 

Review #1 

Though Suzuki's automotive offerings are comprised almost exclusively of modest and affordable SUVs, the motorcycle side of Suzuki's business is a seething cauldron of high performance hardware.

The flagship of the company's street motorcycle line is the GSX1300R Hayabusa, a streamlined, 175 horsepower, 305-kph missile  aimed at expert street riders. Aptly named after a 280-kph bird of prey, the Hayabusa, with its compact DOHC 1.3-liter inline four-cylinder alloy engine is a formidable piece. Its redline is set at a giddy 11,000 rpm and it has a sequential 6-speed transmission built right into the engine cases in typical motorcycle style. Making a screaming 135-horsepower per liter, the Formula Suzuki engine blows automotive benchmarks like the Honda S2000 (120-horsepower-per-liter) out of the water.

You might wonder what a car would be like with a Hayabusa motor supplying the motivation. With the arrival of the Formula Suzuki, you can stop wondering and actually get in and drive.

The brainchild of Nobuhiro (Monster) Tajima, founder of Suzuki Sport in Japan, the Formula Suzuki races in its own spec series in the Land of the Rising Sun. Over 80 copies have been sold already, and since all the cars are equal, the racing is spectacularly close. Will the Formula Suzuki series spread to New Zealand? Suzuki NZ & GP Motorsport are ensuring that it will with 14 cars already sold here and new cars on the way.

A key element of the Formula Suzuki series is affordability, with the Formula Suzuki being a definite bargain among race cars, so even though the car looks like a Formula 3 car, it borrows freely from Suzuki's car and motorcycle parts bins to keep cost under control.

Brakes, suspension knuckles and wheel hubs all come from the Suzuki car and SUV lines, while the instruments, mirrors and radiators come from the Hayabusa motorcycle. The chassis is a purpose-built space frame design, and carries the engine longitudinally behind the driver.

Power is fed via a shaft drive to a differential borrowed from the all-wheel-drive Escudo SUV. Since the stock motorcycle transmission is used and has no reverse gear, the spec racer has a specialy added automotive starter motor that that will drive the car backward with the touch of a button. Just the thing for backing your way out of the occasional embarrassing spin-out.

Pushrods position the suspension units inboard and out of the airstream, just like on any self-respecting race car and a full aero package keeps the car glued to the track at high speeds.

At about 425 Kg, the car weighs about twice as much as the Hayabusa motorcycle, but with four wide racing slicks and plenty of downforce, it can corner much faster.

Ease into the Formula Suzuki driver's seat and one of the first things you notice is the space it affords. Probably scaled around Monster Tajima's physique you find that rangy Kiwis approaching six feet have no problems at all due to it's adjustability. Fire the engine and click the sequential gearbox into first gear and you forget all about the space or lack of it.

Geared to top out at over 250 Kph just reaching redline in sixth (instead of 300+ like the bike), acceleration is exhilarating, and you go through the gears with video game intensity. The engine revs with adrenaline-pumping quickness and makes a synapse-zapping high rpm howl that you normally don't encounter in the automotive world until you've graduated into high-dollar racing iron.

The Formula Suzuki steering is firm and whippet quick, so your inputs need to be confident and precise. The car goes where you aim it almost instantly, so indecisiveness will send you off the track with impressive speed. Drive it smoothly, and the wheel dances in your hands, telegraphing the traction situation to you with unvarnished honesty.

And with the wings working to hold the car on the track, the faster you go, the better it sticks. Working up to the Formula Suzuki's limits will be an intoxicating exercise, to say the least.

When the Formula Suzuki series starts next year, the car will be a fine training ride for a developing young driver, or a fabulous toy for club racers who want a fast open wheel car instead of a pedestrian door-slammer. Regardless of your latent F-1 potential, the Formula Suzuki rates as a serious thrill ride.

Review #2

The new Formula Suzuki Hayabusa is an excellent example of Suzuki's advanced automotive and motorcycle engineering, and the firm's ability to build affordable high-performance products. It's easy to see this sleek, winged, open-wheel racing car, designed for a Japanese one-make competition series, has four tires and a steering wheel, but its rear-engined heart was transplanted from the most awesome street motorcycle ever built by Suzuki, the GSX1300R Hayabusa.

The state-of-the-art Hayabusa power plant boasts a 1300cc displacement that spins up to a strong 11,000 rpm. The racing machine has 175 horsepower at 9,800 rpm, generated with the help of double overhead cams, 16 valves, an 11:1 compression ratio, liquid-cooling and electronic fuel injection. That power, having to propel just 900 pounds of racing car, is channelled through a smooth shifting six-speed sequential transmission.

Introduced in 1999, the Suzuki Hayabusa shattered superbike performance records and established itself as the quickest mass-produced street machine in history. The motorcycle was named after an indigenous Japanese falcon, capable of speeds up to 297 kph in a dive. The Suzuki proved capable of even more. Top magazines radar-gunned the Hayabusa at 310 kph, and clocked it in the 10-second range through the quarter-mile. The Suzuki's raw power and slippery, wind-tunnel-crafted bodywork placed it on top of the motorcycle performance mountain and generated a cult following in the two-wheeled world.

The four-wheel Formula Suzuki mounts that monster engine in a steel space frame crafted by Suzuki Sport. Founded by one of Japan's most heroic racing drivers, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, Suzuki Sport is best known for its wild Pikes Peak-winning hill climb cars. And the Formula Suzuki shares the bold red, white and black Suzuki Sport livery made famous on the high mountains of Colorado.

Like the motorcycle, the Formula Suzuki was built with aerodynamic efficiency in mind. Hidden, in-board suspension reduces drag, as does the wind-tunnel-designed body. The front and rear wings adjust to suit track conditions.

Besides the motorcycle-sourced engine, many other Formula Suzuki components come from the two-wheeler. The electronic engine management system, exhaust manifold, muffler, radiator, rear-view mirrors and instrument panel all come from the bike. The shock absorbers and springs were lifted from another Suzuki motorcycle, the GSX750F.

Suzuki's auto division also supplies parts for the Formula Suzuki. The fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator and clutch master cylinder are from the Grand Vitara sport-utility vehicle. The air-cleaner element comes from the Esteem sedan. Suzuki vehicles like the 1600 ignis sport sold in Japan supply the brake assemblies, knuckles, hubs, steering rod ends and fuel pump.

Utilizing these sourced components helps ensure reliability and quality. And it provides the Formula Suzuki with perhaps its most significant advantage: cost. Mass-produced pieces for regular cars and bikes are far less expensive than special, limited-production racing parts.

With the Formula Suzuki Hayabusa, Suzuki continues its tradition in innovation, turning a two-wheel motorcycle into a four-wheel, high performance racing machine.