My favorite car story involves a Swift GT that I didn't buy. I was in the market for a new car and there was a bunch of hype about the Swift GT and how quick it was so I went to drive one and was seriously interested in buying it as a new car. Everything was great up until the 300+ pound salesman had to ride with me and my wife on the test drive. With 3 people in the car it was anemic and didn't handle for E36 M3. When we got back the guy offered to let me drive it by myself but I was already done in my head so we left. I never looked at them again after that.
Bibs
New Reader
10/6/23 12:56 p.m.
My first car! Mine was a '90. I bought it used from a used car mega-lot, that didn't know what they had...It was parked at the back, dusty and ignored. As a poor student, it was a perfect find.
I drove it for years, until I got married. It was quick, handled well, and never let me down. I beat the crap out of that poor thing. I recall Motor Trend doing a back-page feature where they modified the suspension, and set some serious slalom times.
It still looked good when I sold it, but the floors had started to rot. Since that gem, I always had a small, fun car.
Haven't seen a Swift in many years.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
Peabody said:
bobzilla said:
There are 2 swift GT's for sale, one with original drivetrain one swapped to the metro 3-cyl (fun fact, all NA Suzuki swifts from 1989-up were 4-cyl).
Fun fact: Except for the ones that came with 3cyl engines.
Which ones were that?
I know at some point, all Swifts came with the 1.3l.
Second Gen, 89-94 were all 1.3 SOHC or DOHC engines.
bobzilla said:
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
Peabody said:
bobzilla said:
There are 2 swift GT's for sale, one with original drivetrain one swapped to the metro 3-cyl (fun fact, all NA Suzuki swifts from 1989-up were 4-cyl).
Fun fact: Except for the ones that came with 3cyl engines.
Which ones were that?
I know at some point, all Swifts came with the 1.3l.
Second Gen, 89-94 were all 1.3 SOHC or DOHC engines.
Nope.
Swifts were available in those years with the G10/3cyl. After that it was 1.3 only.
95-97 they came with a 3 year only 1.3 8v with a roller cam and TBI. 98-01 a 1.3 16v SOHC multi port, capable of GT like performance with a little work.
For many years my AE92's main autocross competition was a stripped and modded Swift GTi, the engine feels surprisingly torquey and they're very light even before the interior is stripped. The driver had to work the steering pretty hard and was always worried about shattering its gearbox. Another GTi did exactly that right before my eyes on a rallycross start line.
