Start with what the Suzuki GSX-R/4 is: a Roadster with 1.3 L, 4-stroke inline-four, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve, 173 bhp, built from 2001, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer.
How it came about
The Suzuki GSX-R/4 is a concept car made by Suzuki in 2001. Designed as a showcase for technology, it was never meant for production. It has a mid-mounted, 1.3 L (79 in3) DOHC engine taken from the company's flagship motorcycle, the GSX-1300R Hayabusa with a top speed reaching of 181 mph (291 km/h) at 9800 rpm. It had upscale features for its time, such as GPS navigation. Alongside the GSX-R/4, Suzuki presented the Formula Hayabusa, an open wheel race car concept, also using the 173 bhp (129 kW) motorcycle engine.
The hardware
The engine is 1.3 L, 4-stroke inline-four, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 16-valve, 173 bhp. On the scales it comes to 640 kg. Drive goes through a 6-speed sequential manual. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Honda Fit, the Citroën C3, the Mazda Mazda6. Its Suzuki stablemates include the Suzuki XL-7 and the Suzuki Landy.