Back to News
BETTER IN EVERY WAY – THE ALL - NEW SWIFT SPORT
| Date: 31 Jul 2019 |
Author Type: Press Release |
| Author: Suzuki South Africa |
| Source: Suzuki South Africa |
- 230 Nm of torque
from 1.4 BOOSTERJET engine
- Uprated suspension and
wider track
- A massive 90 kg lighter
than its predecessor
The legendary
Suzuki Swift Sport, often called the barometer of the hot hatch genre, is
back!
The new model takes
its place at the top of the Suzuki Swift range, and while it stays true to the
Swift Sport motto of light weight and seat-of-your-pants driving, it introduces
forced induction and direct injection for increased, and more immediate,
power.
“The Swift Sport
heralds a new era for Suzuki South Africa by introducing our modern BOOSTERJET
turbocharged engine technology to our range. This engine won the IATIA Engine
of the Year Award in 2018 and with 230 Nm of torque, it will no-doubt be
welcomed by Swift Sport and hot hatch enthusiasts alike,” says André Venter,
divisional manager for sales and marketing at Suzuki Auto South Africa.
It’s all in the numbers
The late Colin
Chapman was famed for saying that adding power makes you faster in the
straights, but subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.
Chapman’s views
made his motorsport teams famous and have always been the motto of the Swift
Sport engineers. Since introducing the first Swift Sport in 2005, they have
worked hard to reduce weight in all areas of the vehicle, from the design of
the sport seats to the forging methods of the alloy wheels.
“By keeping the
Swift Sport light and nimble, our engineers have made a car that is not only
fast but also rewarding to drive. Where other hot hatches have become a blunt
tool that rely on brute force, the Swift Sport rewards the driver with precise steering
feel, nimble handling, progressive power and good mechanical feedback,” says
Venter.
The 2019 Suzuki
Swift Sport weighs in at 970 kg, a massive 90 kg lighter than its predecessor.
With 103 kW from the BOOSTERJET engine and a sub one tonne weight, it means
that the Swift Sport is part of the hallowed group of cars that can claim over
100 kilowatt/tonne.
Designed to WOW
The Suzuki Swift
Sport was designed to wow its growing fan base and champions of the hot hatch
genre in general. The new model is lower, wider and longer than its predecessor
and stands out from its lesser siblings thanks to a range of hot hatch inspired
additions.
The most prominent
change to the Suzuki Swift Sport is perhaps the all-new front design. The
entire nose has been redesigned and is unique to the Swift Sport. It includes a
larger and reverse-slanted front grille with honeycomb pattern, straddled by
two large cut-outs with integrated fog lights.
The front lights
are LEDs with long light-bar type LED daytime running lights and there is a
front splitter with carbon-fibre type patterning to round off the sporty
look.
On the flanks, the
Swift Sport is immediately distinguishable by its 16” diamondcut and polished
alloy wheels, which are now shod with 195/50R16 low-profile tyres. New carbon
fibre-patterned side underspoilers flow from the front splitter between the
front and rear tyres for improved aerodynamics and a lower, groundhugging
appearance.
Suzuki has also
added darkened privacy glass to the rear windows for visual differentiation and
to emphasise the model’s tapered roof.
At the rear, a
completely redesigned rear bumper houses two chromed exhaust pipes, one on
either side, that have been acoustically engineered for a deeper sound at
low engine speeds. The twin-tailpipes pay direct homage to the new Swift
Sport’s forebears.
All Swift Sport
models also feature rear LED-taillamps and a larger, integrated roof spoiler. A
rear splitter, in the same design and style as the underspoilers and front
splitter, round off the stylish design.
While the darkened
front, side and rear underspoilers create a clear visual distinction from the
standard Suzuki Swift, it also plays an important aerodynamic role. These
spoilers, combined with the redesigned roof spoiler, new flat covers under the
engine and main floor and new, larger front strakes, boosts the new Swift
Sport’s aerodynamic efficiency by 10% over its predecessor.
Swift Sport buyers
will be able to choose from seven exterior colours, namely Burning Red, Speedy
Blue, Pure White, Super Black, Premium Silver, Mineral Grey and the popular
Champion Yellow. The last-mentioned pays homage to the championship-winning
Super 1600 Suzuki Swift Sport that dominated the Junior World Rally
Championships in the early-2000s.
BOOSTERJET-power, better all-round performance
One of the main
talking points of the new Suzuki Swift Sport is certainly the 1.4 litre BOOSTERJET
engine.
This new engine is
also available in the new Suzuki Vitara Turbo, but in this configuration, it
has been uniquely tuned for more power and more lively power delivery.
The K14C DITC
BOOSTERJET four-cylinder engine has a capacity of 1 373 cubic centimetres. It
replaces the previous generation’s 1.6 litre naturally aspirated engine, with
forced induction, and the previous model’s port-injection with direct
in-cylinder fuel injection from a new, high-pressure and high-precision
sevennozzle injector system.
Suzuki’s engineers
designed the 1.4 BOOSTERJET engine with a very short intake manifold, an
integrated exhaust manifold and, in the Swift Sport, a
pendulum-style engine mounting system for additional rigidity. The compact
design of the engine has also allowed the engineers to better position the
engine for improved weight distribution and a low centre of gravity.
Lastly, the
engineers replaced the direct-action variable valve timing (VVT) of the
previous naturally-aspirated engine with a new roller rocker-type VVT-system
for more progressive power delivery, especially at high revs.
The Swift Sport
also features a unique air intake system with dual air-intake pressure sensors
and two electric fans on the front radiator, leading to 34% better cooling
efficiency and 38% greater airflow to the engine, compared with the previous
model.
The wastegate
inside the engine is electronically controlled, and in comparison, with other
iterations of the same engine this model closes quicker for rapid pressure
build-up at overtaking speeds.
With all these
engineering improvements and a Swift Sport-exclusive engine mapping, the
BOOSTERJET delivers 103 kW at 5 500 rpm (3 kW more than its predecessor) and a
whopping 230 Nm in a linear fashion between 2 500 rpm and 3 500 rpm, which is a
massive 70 Nm more than its predecessor.
The BOOSTERJET
engine propels the new lower and lighter Swift Sport to 100km/h from a standing
start in just 8 seconds and is rated for a top speed of 205 km/h.
Handling and all-round driveability – the jewel in the Swift Sport crown
When it comes to
handling and driveability, the Swift Sport has big shoes to fill. While no
Swift Sport was ever designed to be the most powerful vehicle in its segment,
it certainly offered some of the best visceral driving pleasure.
Under the guidance
of Chief Engineer Masao Kobori, Suzuki set about refining and perfecting each
aspect of the Swift Sport that has made it such a peach on a tight and twisty
road. These include:
Weight reduction
The Swift Sport has
never been a heavy vehicle, but to shave more than 10% off its body weight in
this iteration took a great deal of planning and design.
Suzuki’s engineers
lightened almost all aspects of the vehicle, including its doors, body
construction, alloy wheels, engine, seats and interior fittings. It did this
without compromising on safety, which is evidenced in the fact that the Swift
Sport is the most rigid that it has ever been.
Rigidity
By replacing the
previous generation’s segmented frame with a continuous-frame chassis and
adding more welding spots than the standard Swift, the engineers have ensured
that very little body flex or shudder will enter the vehicle, even when driven
very hard on uneven surfaces.
Under the skin, the
Swift Sport shares the Swift’s HEARTECT platform, which is Suzuki’s proprietary
platform technology that was designed for light weight, optimised handling and
excellent force displacement in the event of an accident.
Interestingly, the
new Swift Sport has twice as much ultra-high tensile steel as its
predecessor.
Suspension and brakes
In a nod to its
forebears, Suzuki has again partnered with Monroe for customdesigned shock
absorbers that have been tuned for minimal body roll and progressive understeer
in fast corners.
Other changes to
the suspension, over both its predecessor and the standard Swift, include
thicker anti-roll bars, an integrated single-unit solution for the wheel hub
and bearings and increased spring and damper rates on the front axle.
At the rear, there
are Monroe shocks and greater toe and camber rigidity, which in the latter case
is three times more rigid than the outgoing Swift Sport. The Swift Sport
also features a completely unique trailing arm design, for better tracking
between the front and rear wheels.
Suzuki has further
increased the size and thickness of the front ventilated disks, improving
overall stopping ability by 10% under high-strain repetitive braking tests. At
the rear, the solid disk brakes are now made from a new, more durable material
that features less fading under in the same repetitive braking tests.
Gearbox options
The new Swift Sport
will be available with the choice of an uprated six-speed manual gearbox and a
brand-new six-speed automatic gearbox.
Both gearboxes have
been optimised for rapid shifting under hard acceleration and both models
feature the same 0 – 100 km/h acceleration times. In the case of the manual box,
the shift action is 10% shorter than before, while tweaks to the clutch profile
and a new synchromesh system have been added to give a more positive shift
action.
The uprated manual
box is well matched to the turbo powerband of the BOOSTERJET engine and allows
the Swift Sport manual to accelerate 50% faster between 40 km/h and 80
km/h.
In the case of the
automatic gearbox, the previous model’s continuously variable transmission –
which was not available in South Africa – has been replaced with a rapid-shifting
six speed automatic transmission with paddle shifting.
An interior fit for a Swift Sport
Suzuki has tasked
its interior designers to make the cabin of the Swift Sport stand-out, both in
comparison to other Swift models, but also when compared with the rest of the
hot hatch genre.
As such, the
designers have used red and chrome detailing, such as red stitching on the gear
lever boot, steering wheel and seats and a special red-to-black gradation on
the seat material, to convey its sporty intentions.
The Swift Sport’s
sporty intentions are certainly most evident from behind the thick-rimmed
D-shaped steering wheel. From here, a unique set of dials welcome the driver,
with a red face on the sporty tachometer and a deep silver face on the
speedometer. Suzuki’s designers have added minute scaling to the dials, to
create the impression of high-end mechanical instrumentation.
Nestled between
these dials is a special multi-information LCD colour display that can be
programmed to show boost temperature and oil pressure, among many other pieces
of information.
The driver will
also be treated to stainless steel sport pedals and special semibucket seats,
which have been completely redesigned to offer improved side bolstering on the
seat and seatback, without the driver fatigue that often comes from heavy
side-bolstering.
The side bolsters
are strengthened by tubular frames, which is also used in the seatback for
added rigidity, while saving weight.
“In all the design
detailing, the focus was on creating the impression of a high quality, crafted
interior that is focused on the driver,” says André Venter.
Unique Swift Sport interior full house luxuries
The Suzuki Swift
Sport will offer the full array of luxury equipment, including fully automatic
climate control, speed-sensitive power steering, electrically foldable
rear-view mirrors and all-round electric windows.
The model also
features Suzuki’s new 7” touch screen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a
reverse camera, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, steering mounted controls and
cruise control.
Uncompromising safety
As one superhero
has it, great power comes with great responsibility and this is certainly the
case with the Suzuki Swift Sport.
The Sport model has
no less than six airbags (two front, side and curtain airbags), electronic
stability control (ESP) and ABS braking with electronic brakeforce distribution
and emergency brake assistance (EBD). There are anchored ISOFIX mounting points
for infant and child seats, side impact protection and child locks on the rear
doors.
Says Venter: “The
massive weight reduction, significant boost in power and the very impressive
list of specifications and safety features show that we have not compromised on
any aspect with the introduction of the Swift Sport.
“We recognise that
this vehicle has been eagerly anticipated, and we know that the previous 1.6
litre Swift Sport left deep tracks. We do, however, think that the new Swift
Sport is sharper, faster and better in every way and to all our customers on
our waiting list, certainly worth the wait!”
The Swift Sport
will be sold with a 4-year / 60 000 km service plan and a 5-year / 200 000 km
vehicle warranty.