Suzuki Q-Concept

Debuting at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, the Suzuki Q-Concept is an original urban vehicle with ultra-compact dimensions and a 1+1 seating layout.

Defined by Suzuki as a new kind of mobility solution, positioned between a conventional motorcycle and a car, the Q-Concept has an overall length of just 2.5 meters.

  It can transport two people arranged in a 1+1 tandem layout and the rear seat can be easily replaced with two small rear seats for children or removed to leave space for a large cargo area, to serve as a delivery vehicle.

The design used combines a high-tech feel with a friendly look made of strong circular graphic elements and bright colors.

Among the distinctive design elements are the circular doors, which open by swiveling around the front-positioned pivot point.

The rear side window is contoured by a thick frame which forms a panel that slightly slide up and rearward to facilitate access to the rear seat.

The covered wheels are visually detached from the main volume and – together with the lower section of body – are colored in white, providing a strong contrast with the orange paintwork.

The cabin is very bright, thanks to the dominating white tone and the large glass areas – including a panoramic windshield and roof and two lower side windows.

The light tones and transparent surfaces also help to disguise the very compact dimensions, increasing the passengers’ comfort and well-being.

The interior design keeps on the circular graphic theme and features a spherical dashboard element, which integrates the H-shaped steering wheel and HUD-inspired instrument panel.

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Suzuki Regina Concept

Debuting at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, the Suzuki Regina Concept is a study of a next-generation compact car aimed at maximizing efficiency through lightweight construction and aerodynamic performance.

With the Regina Concept, Suzuki proposes its vision for the global compact car of the future: at just 730 kg in weight, it is as light as a minicar, and  its drag coefficient is claimed to be 10% lower than the average current models.

As a result the car – which is powered by a small gasoline engine – achieves a fuel economy of 32 km/l and low emissions of 70 g/km.

The exterior design is driven by aerodynamic requirements.

Among the features are the semi-covered rear wheels, the small rear view cameras and the crease lines running along the flanks, that guide the air flows up to the tapered rear end.

Distinctive styling elements include the white color of the roof which contrasts with the bright green of the body, a hue that underlines the green credentials of the car.

The interior uses the same white-green color scheme – combined with dark grey plastic surfaces – and showcases a minimalistic approach combined with curved lines.

A distinctive feature of the cabin is the center panel display assembly, consisting of a tilted transparent element attached on the center tunnel by means of a multi-function knob, looking like a bolt.

The display is matched by a center-positioned instrument panel and by the reverse U-shaped steering wheel.

Both the seat fabrics and the floor lining feature a green, pixellated pattern that hints at the eco-friendly and digital technologies.

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Suzuki Totes Swift Sport and Three Concepts to Tokyo (Guess Which One We Want)

Suzuki may be struggling to maintain much of a presence in the U.S., but the brand remains a successful purveyor of small vehicles elsewhere in the world. Indeed, we could see the cars it’s showing at the 2011 Tokyo auto show being received well in global markets—and there’s one in particular that we wouldn’t mind seeing here. A rundown of the quartet follows.

Regina

While Suzuki sees its Regina (above) as a next-generation global compact car, it’s hard not to see the car as a sort of micro-fied update of an old French car, the Citroën DS. The homage is strongest in the droopy rear quarter with its partial fender spats, although the front end seems to evoke another “icon”: the NSU Prinz 4. We’re not sure any male would want to be seen in a car like the Regina, especially if it was named Regina—although keeping the name might guarantee Saskatchewan sales success. But anyone can appreciate the fuel-economy and weight claims: 75 mpg on gasoline (according to the Japanese JC08 test cycle) and a feathery 1609 pounds.

Q Concept

It seems like each Japanese carmaker brings at least one “fishbowl” to every Tokyo auto show, and the Q Concept is Suzuki’s 2011 effort. Just 8.2 feet in length, the two-seat Q Concept is evocative of portable CD players from the 1990s and can be configured as a passenger pod or a delivery pod (we refuse to call it a car). It can also be parked pretty much anywhere (although preferably not in direct sunlight, lest anything left inside fry like an ant under a magnifying glass. Will the Japanese succeed someday in making pods like this the norm in urban settings? Hopefully not any time soon, but you can bet your last can of fish food that they’ll keep thinking about it.

Swift EV Hybrid

Re-entering the earth’s atmosphere after admiring the pie-in-the-sky concepts above brings us to the Swift EV Hybrid, which wraps Swift clothing around range-extending tech like that used in the Chevrolet Volt. Suzuki claims that compact cars like the Swift are driven between 12 and 19 miles per day in Japan, a task the Swift EV Hybrid can handle on battery power alone. Longer distances are made possible by a range-extending engine-driven generator. Watch for it at an auto show near you, possibly renamed the Swift Range Extender.

Swift Sport

Of the four debutants that Suzuki is rolling out in Tokyo, the one we want most (and the one we would be most likely to get) is the “performance flagship of the Swift series,” the Swift Sport. Suzuki didn’t provide much in the way of details but did send along this solitary photo. The yellow Swift Sport basically appears to be a production-ready version of the Swift Sport S that Suzuki showed at the Geneva auto show last March, complete with darkened headlamp surrounds, large wheels, an aggressive front fascia, sill extensions, and a smoked single-framed grille like that found on the Kizashi. The only thing missing from the Swift S is the wide-body kit. We expect this model offer more power than the 123 horses of the last Swift Sport, while the transmission choices will be a six-speed manual or continuously variable automatic. You know which of the gearboxes we would choose.

For its part, Suzuki is still not talking about any plans to bring any Swift models here, where Suzuki dealers—the handful of them that remain, that is—are starved for product. We’d love it if the Swift Sport made it to our shores, but admit that a micro-bomber like it isn’t likely to contribute much in to the brand’s sales numbers.

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