Suzuki Swift Sport Could Be Making a Comeback – But There's a Catch
Well, this is a bit awkward. Barely two months since we said our emotional farewell to the Suzuki Swift Sport, it appears that the plucky underdog hot hatch might have faked its own death and is readying itself for a grand re-entrance.
Before you get too excited, if the Swift Sport does come back, it almost certainly won’t come to Europe. The company confirmed earlier this year that the outgoing car – based on the now-replaced fifth-gen Swift – would only stick around in the UK as long as dealer stocks lasted, and as far as we can tell, they’ve now run dry.
Japanese magazine Best Car, though, suggests that the model could live on in Suzuki’s home country, reporting that a Sport version of the new Swift is in development and could be revealed by the end of this year.
New Engine and Performance
According to the report, the new Sport could use a development of the old one’s powertrain, which paired a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder with a 48v starter-generator, making it a very mild hybrid. Best Car, though, reckons that the engine is being thoroughly tweaked to the extent that it’s “almost newly developed.”
The rumours reckon on the engine having an output of 148bhp and 177lb ft of torque, with the electric elements said to contribute a further 15bhp and 43lb ft – although it’s not clear what the system’s overall output will be. Either way, it’s set to be an increase on the 127bhp and 173lb ft offered by the old mild hybrid Swift Sport.
Best Car also reports that Suzuki is targeting a kerbweight of just 960kg, and that it’ll be offered with six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes. Supposedly, we could see the car in either December this year or January 2025, and in Japan, it could be priced between 2.3 and 2.5 million Yen (somewhere between £12,200 and £13,300, although cars tend to be cheaper in Japan, where the entry-level new Swift costs the equivalent of just £9200).
The Swift Sport's Legacy
Back in July, it was revealed that Suzuki were having a major clearout with four popular models being scrapped to pave the way for their very first EV.
Among those was the iconic Swift Sport, which is adored by car fanatics for its fun-factor and has been on sale in the UK since 2006 - with its most-recent iteration boasting some mild hybrid tech.
When its impending doom was first announced, Suzuki said that Swift Sport would only remain in the UK for as long as dealer stocks lasted.
The demise of the Swift Sport was revealed alongside that of Suzuki's Jimny, Ignis and Swace models - with all of them making way for a new range of EVs.
Failure to do so would result in a fairly hefty fine for every ICE vehicle sold.
The loss of the Swift Sport came as a major blow to the hot hatchback niche, which has already lost the likes of the Ford Fiesta ST and the Hyundai i20 N.
The End of an Era?
So, while we might have been a bit hasty in mourning the loss of the perennially overachieving little Swift Sport, it could well become yet another entry on the growing list of cars for which we look enviously at Japan.
