Debuting 21 years ago, will we ever see a production Suzuki Hayabusa Sport?
Ever wondered what would happen if you had done one simple action differently? When one thinks of the butterfly effect, we realize just how much impact one small decision could have in the long run. Today, our butterfly effect thoughts revolve around the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept. Let’s dive right into it.
The Suzuki Hayabusa Sport Prototype, debuted in 2002 at the Tokyo Auto Salon. It was meant to be powered by a 1.3-litre motorcycle engine making 175hp and 138Nm of torque, paired to a six-speed sequential gearbox and featuring a rear-wheel drive platform, making it the ultimate blend between sporty and nimble.
Moreover, weighing 550kg, the idea of a motorcycle-engined car was and still is intriguing, especially when the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept looks like a light aerodynamic banana if that’s how one sees it in the yellow paint. It was also originally meant for the track but could have very easily been adapted for road use.
One of the best features of the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept is that it embodies the saying, “less is more,” and also marks the first time Suzuki used the “Hayabusa” moniker on something other than a motorcycle. Based on the track-only Formula Suzuki Hayabusa, the concept car was essentially a street-legal race car.
On top of that, back in the day, the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept was hailed as the “ultimate lightweight sports car” by its creator as the petite one-off featured a perfectly even 50:50 weight distribution. Similar to another more modern lightweight sports car that was initially a collaboration between three automotive brands.
What’s more, the reason this small Suzuki received the “Hayabusa” name is because the concept borrowed the naturally aspirated 1.3-liter engine from the GSX-R1300R Hayabusa, a former holder of the fastest production motorcycle title. This inline four engine made the exact same figures as in the motorcycle as well.
Another cool feature of the Suzuki Hayabusa sport concept is the fact that it features gull wing doors and proposes an interesting vision for a back-to-basics tiny sports car. How tiny? Well, it measured only 3,790mm in length, 1,760mm in width, and just 1,100mm in height.
While Suzuki never had any plans to put the car into production. In fact, the concept was not even ready to be driven on roads, it still is a very unique car and one has to wonder just how different life could be today if the Suzuki Hayabusa Sport concept was produced. Perhaps we were never meant to know but we can always imagine.
We got all this from Motor 1 and their full article is linked here. Thank you Motor 1 for the information and images.
