Long-time Pikes Peak racer Nobuhiro Tajima will take the wheel of a heavily modified Suzuki SX4 Sport hatchback in the hill climb this Sunday. Tajima and his Monster Sport team have entered one Suzuki or another in the Race to the Clouds since 1989. This year he and his SX4 are competing the Unlimited class against the Ford Fiesta Rallycross cars driven by Marcus Gronholm and Andreas Eriksson.
Suzuki has released specs on the Monster Sport SX4 hatch, dubbed the SX4 Hillclimb Special, And at least on paper, this car is on equal footing with the Fiestas, which are said to be making over 800 horsepower.
Steel space frame
Carbon/Kevlar cowl & wing
2736cc twin-turbocharged inline-4 V6 (corrected)
873 hp @ 8,750 rpm
654 lb-ft @ 6,250 rpm
6-speed sequential gearbox
All-wheel-drive w/ 3 limited-slip differentials
Tire size: 285/60R18
Wheel size: 18 by 11 inches
Curb weight: 2,469 lbs
Tajima and Monster Sport are also aiming for a sub-10-minute run on the 12.42-mile course, which starts at 9,390 feet and tops out at 14,110 feet, with 156 turns in-between.
huyracing says:
06:17 PM, 07/17/09
all that power in the race car and Suzuki can't even give us 200hp on a street car?
firstwagon says:
06:48 PM, 07/17/09
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
huyracing says:
07:39 PM, 07/17/09
doubt it, Suzuki has been doing this probably since they came to the US.
subytrojan says:
08:27 PM, 07/17/09
Does anyone remember the Suzuki Escudo in Gran Turismo 2? I loved using it and the Renault Espace F1 against more traditional sports cars/exotics. :o)
kyolml says:
11:28 AM, 07/19/09
Only the shell resemble SX4, nothing else, so don't expect any suzuki variants for sell...
cruiserhead1 says:
12:23 PM, 07/20/09
Tajima wins! He's King of the Hill once again