Suzusho
Surpasse V
Suzusho
are a Japanese kit car company who since 2004 have been making Lotus 7 replicas
for the Japanese market. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show Suzusho are planning on
unveiling their first in-house designed vehicle, the Surpasse V.
For
such a small outfit and niche sports car maker the Surpasse V is a surprisingly
good looking motor. Sure there are some elements which could do with attention
- more specifically the sealed-beam headlight units which are crudely molded
into the bodywork - but overall it's not a bad looking little sports car. Lots
of people will point out the styling similarities with the Ferrari Enzo, and
rightly so as there is obviously some Enzo influences in there. But at the same
time it's clear this is not intended to be a replica, it just borrows a few
shapes from one of the best supercars of all time.
Mounted
behind the two-seat passenger compartment is a 2.3 litre, turbocharged, inline
4-cylinder engine lifted from the Mazda3 MPS. Producing a respectable 270 horsepower
@ 5,500 rpm, and 380 Nm of torque @ 3,000 rpm this unit should offer pretty
impressive performance considering the Surpasse V only weighs 850 kgs (1,873
lbs).
It's
doubtful whether the Suzusho will be offering the Surpasse V outside of Japan.
So it looks like the car will be mainly battling against the likes of the Tommy
Kaira ZZ and Vemac RD180.
