The Suzuki Kizashi has been spotted at Pune, which makes us believe that the car will be launched very soon. Pune is the home of ARAI, and in all probability, the car is being homologated for the Indian market. Maruti plans to position the Kizashi in between the Civic and Accord at a price tag of Rs. 17 lakhs. The car is expected to be feature rich with the USP being its sportiness and value for money. Hopefully a diesel variant will follow soon enough before the Kizashi is ruled out like the Grand Vitara.

Source – ACI

Piloting American Suzuki Motor Corporation’s modified 2010 Suzuki Kizashi Bonneville Special, Road & Track’s Sam Mitani injected the Kizashi into the record books (and himself in the 200 mph club) with his 203.720 mph run at this year’s Bonneville Speed Week, exceeding the previous record of 202.301 mph. Despite a multitude of records and record attempts achieved by Suzuki motorcycle riders, this was the first official crack at the Bonneville Salt Flats by American Suzuki’s automotive arm. With temperatures topping 100 degrees, the Kizashi was running at a density altitude on the flats of 6,303 feet. After passing inspection, the 2010 Kizashi provided a perfect platform for qualifying with the Southern California Timing Association, the sanctioning club for all Bonneville records..

2010 Suzuki Kizashi Bonneville Special

Beginning with interior safety and instrument modifications, the Suzuki Kizashi Bonneville Special underwent additional refinements to make it salt-ready. Once the work was completed, the team installed the SCTA-approved roll cage, an aluminum bulkhead in the rear, racing seat, seat harnesses and window net. Next, it was time to take a look under the hood. The motor was disassembled to confirm the stock measurements, while the cylinder head was flowed and ported. The Kizashi Bonneville racer benefits from a new intake manifold, a tuned ‘long tube’ header and forged rods and pistons for high rpm endurance.

With up to 16 pounds of boost from a Turbonetics turbocharger, the Kizashi’s increased horsepower required air-to-water intercooling (and snow water/methanol injection) – while its increased output demands a new ACT clutch and pressure plate. A scattershield is added, the oil pan is welded for a new drain fitting and a new 3.5-inch exhaust is fabricated aft of the turbocharger. Additional protection for the high-boost, high-rpm turbo motor is provided by full synthetic 5W-20 racing oil from Lucas Oil. The Kizashi platform is morphed into a salt-specific recipe with new coilovers, steel wheels seam welded, and speed-specific 15×7-inch Goodyear Front Runner® rubber. An air dam keeps the Kizashi’s nose planted, window straps and hood pins ensure the hood and glass stay in place, and a parachute can bring the high speed show to a controlled and shortened stop. Finally, a dual fire system provides the extra assurance so important for Mitani, with more than 500 boosted horses but only a few feet in front of his high-speed capsule.

Suzuki moves the Kizashi into a category typically reserved for Bonneville streamliners. With extensive modifications the Kizashi will rocket its way toward the 200 mph benchmark and, if successful, into Suzuki’s already remarkable motorsport history. The Bonneville Kizashi began with a pre-production Kizashi prototype. In May 2010, construction of the Bonneville racer began with interior disassembly, underscoring Kizashi’s initial design premise.

The spare motor was disassembled to confirm the stock measurements, while the cylinder head was flowed and ported. The Bonneville Kizashi benefits from a new intake manifold, a tuned ‘long tube’ header and – for high rpm durability – forged rods and pistons. With up to 20 pounds of boost from the Turbonetics turbocharger, the Kizashi’s increased horsepower required air-to-water intercooling (and Snow water/methanol injection) – while its output demands a new ACT Clutch and Pressure Plate. A scattershield is added, the oil pan is welded for a new drain fitting and a new 3.5-inch exhaust is fabricated aft of the turbocharger. Additional protection for the high-boost, high-rpm turbo motor is provided by full synthetic 5W-20 racing oil from Lucas Oil.

The Kizashi platform is morphed into a salt-specific recipe with new coilovers, steel wheels seam welded, and speed-specific 15×7-inch Goodyear Front Runner® rubber. An air dam keeps the Kizashi’s nose planted, window straps and hood pins ensure the hood and glass stay in place, and a parachute can bring the high speed show to an emergency stop. Finally, a dual fire system provides the extra assurance so important for Mitani, with some 900 boosted horses but only a few feet in front of his now high-speed capsule.

2010 Bonneville Kizashi Technical Specifications : -

• Wheelbase – 106.3 inches
• Overall Length – 183.1 inches
• Overall Width -71.7 inches
• Engine – 2.4-liter, four-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC engine
• Horsepower – 500 wheel hp @ 7000 rpm
• Torque – 420 lb.-ft. @ 5100 rpm
• Transmission, Manual – Six-speed manual transmission
• Brakes- Front ventilated disc brakes/Rear disc brakes

According to American Suzuki Motor Corporation (Automotive Marketing and Public Relations) Vice-President Gene Brown, the launch of the Suzuki Kizashi in India is not that far away. We believe Maruti Suzuki will take the plunge and launch the Kizashi in our country by the end of this year. The company had showcased the car at the 2010 Auto Expo which makes us feel they wanted to gauge customer response. When launched, the D-segment vehicle is expected to take on the Honda Accord and Skoda Laura.

Maruti Suzuki plans to compete with Honda and Toyota with the launch of the Kizashi in India at the 2010 Auto Expo. The Kizashi is Suzuki’s first big car developed in-house. The car will be powered by the same 2.4L engine used in the Grand Vitara. The Kizashi will be mated to a six-speed manual transmission and a CVT automatic with paddle shifts will also be offered. The car is expected to be the first-all-wheel-drive luxury car in India in the Rs 10-13 lakh price bracket.

Maruti will pitch the Kizashi as a sports crossover – a vehicle that derives from a car platform while blends features from a sports utility vehicle. The car will sport a large tyre size of a 21 inch wheel against Honda Civic’s 15 inch. It is expected to roll out from Maruti’s sprawling 500-acre Manesar facility. Maruti engineers have already started work on Kizashi and are likely to customise the luxury sedan for rugged Indian road conditions.

Suzuki has finally unveiled the Kizashi after teasing us with quite a few concepts of the much awaited luxury saloon. The car will initially be powered by a 2.4-litre DOHC inline four-cylinder engine linked to a six speed manual transmission or a CVT with paddle shifts. The car will be available in 2 wheel as well as 4 wheel drive versions. Hybrid and V6 versions will come at a later stage. Suzuki’s current focus is on the US market but we can expect the Kizashi to hit Indian shores by the end of next year.

The Kizashi is aimed to be sporty as well as comfortable. The car has a multi-link suspension at the rear, constructed of aluminium, and runs on 18 inch wheels shod on 20 spoke alloys. The front of the Kizashi is a cut copy paste job of the Volkswagen Jetta/Golf. The interiors are sporty yet cool with standard sports seats and high level of equipment including 8 airbags, ESP, ABS, projector headlamps and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The Kizashi saloon goes on sale in the U.S in Decemeber this year and will be joined by a crossover and estate. The Kizashi when launched in India will be priced between Rs. 15-20 lakhs and will compete against the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Skoda Laura. Maruti might launch the Kizashi in the Indian market with a 1.9 DDIS diesel powerplant which will give the Kizashi an edge over its competitors.

Suzuki does not want to be known for being a small car maker and is making entry into bigger segment. The Suzuki Kizashi is a very important car for Suzuki as well as Maruti as it can change the image of the company. The concept version of the Kizashi was very sharp and looked awesome but that kept tonning down with every new concept of the Kizashi. However the production version of the car looks quite decent. Now only if they price it well.

Following establishment of its leadership in the A, B and C-segment cars in India, Maruti Suzuki is now looking aggressively at the D-segment by planning to launch the Kizashi by 2010-end. The Kizashi will be the first all-wheel drive sedan in the luxury D-segment. However, there is a slight change in plans since parent Suzuki Motor Co is now preferring smaller vehicles for global auto markets and is therefore doing away with the monstrous 3.5 litre engine. Instead, Maruti is likely to go in for a 2-litre petrol engine, though nothing seems finalized yet.

“The market has changed and Suzuki has now stopped developing such big engines. Now they are developing a 2 litre engine,” Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director Shinzo Nakanishi said. “If SMC launches Kizashi this year in Japan we will think of bringing it in India. Otherwise, SX4 will be our biggest car here,” he added.

Pricing and other details are still not available, but it is widely believed the car would be priced at around Rs. 10 lakh price bracket and would be rolled out from MSIL’s state-of-the-art-facility in Manesar. It would be pitted against Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis, Chevrolet Optra, Skoda Octavia and Volkswagen Jetta.  Industry sources have revealed that Maruti engineers have already began working on Kizashi to take it from the concept stage to the production platform.The 2-litre engined Kizashi would be the biggest car in Suzuki’s passenger car portfolio and the company would not go beyond that engine capacity.