The Hindu : MUL to showcase racing car at Auto Expo

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Business

Business

MUL to showcase racing car at Auto Expo

By K. T. Jagannathan

CHENNAI, JAN. 10. Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) will showcase Formula Suzuki Hayabusa, the famous racing car from its overseas parent Suzuki Motor Corporation, at the upcoming Auto Expo in New Delhi. The Formula Suzuki Hayabusa is the top-of-the-category track racing car model in Suzuki's range. The car has been a part of motor sport activity in Japan and in the rest of Asia in the last couple of years.

The Formula Hayabusa will be used to reinforce Suzuki's technology leadership in small cars all over the world. The Maruti-Suzuki pavilion at the expo this time around will demonstrate how Suzuki's experience in making motorbikes helps it in developing light, compact and performance-packed cars.

The Formula Suzuki Hayabusa will be used to covey this central theme. This is a single-seater racing car and powered by a 1299cc petrol engine. It can churn out a maximum output of 173 bhp. In fact, the engine and transmission of this track-racing car is the same as the one used in Suzuki's Hayabusa GSX 130R motorcycle, claimed to be the fastest bike in the world. Suzuki has been the number one mini-car maker in Japan for the last three decades. After Suzuki took management control, technology and R & D have been identified as thrust areas in MUL. The Maruti-Suzuki pavilion at the expo is expected to project this as the key message. This is understandable in the wake of the announcement made by Suzuki that Maruti will be its R & D centre for Asia.

It may be recalled, MUL had, recently, launched a new Zen, designed and styled entirely in-house in Maruti. According to indications, Maruti will be able to fully develop a new car model in India by 2007. Efforts to develop R & D capability at Maruti are already underway.

MUL did not participate in the last Auto Expo in January 2002. This is the first Auto Expo being held in India after Suzuki took management control of Maruti in May 2002. As such, Maruti is keen to display the technological capabilities of its parent company.

The Maruti-Suzuki pavilion at the expo will display a mix of power-packed sports cars, concept vehicles and popular models of Maruti. Since 2001 Suzuki had begun a programme of `one-make' races in three categories to activate the development of Japanese motor sports. The Formula Suzuki Hayabusa is the top category of track racing under this programme.

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