View From The Porch: Ten different kinds of wrong.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Ten different kinds of wrong.

Time + Money + Suzuki Hayabusa motor + Poor little Smart Car that never knew what hit it = The sickest thing I've seen all week.

WANT.

24 comments:

Jeffro said...: Wonder what it would do in the quarter. If it could hook up.

I'm not sure I'd want to be in it @ 100mph or over.; 12:14 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Too much money.
Too much free time.

I want one too. . . . .

Formerflyer; 12:53 AM, June 14, 2008
Unknown said...: One of the related links had it racing a Ferrari. Beat it by a decent margin too.; 1:53 AM, June 14, 2008
Robert said...: It's like a go-kart on steroids...; 2:09 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: I saw one on the New Jersey Turnpike doing 70. Next to a tractor trailer. Hulk see bug! Hulk smash bug!!

Reminds me of the 3-cylinder Geo Metro. What a POS that was. And it didn't get that great fuel economy either. Friend of mine had one and said it only got about 25 mpg.

I'll stick with my truck, until I see more and more people switching over to 2-wheeled modes of transportation. I just might join them.; 2:38 AM, June 14, 2008
Fabio said...: The only missing thing is a version with raised suspensions, undercarriage protections, roll bar and offroad tyres...; 4:35 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: You realize there are turbo kits available that can more than double the horsepower of the stock busa motor. :evilgrin:; 4:54 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: It needs more weight on the rear tires, I'd recommend a supercharger. ;p

Gmac; 8:27 AM, June 14, 2008
Mark said...: That's simply obscene.

I love it!; 8:50 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: I predict, in pretty short order, a whole new class of motoring enthusiast as the wrenchbenders get their hands on these tiny little crapmobiles and propel them to obscene speeds.

I can easily foresee myriad varieties of Q-ship Smart Cars.

And I want one.; 8:57 AM, June 14, 2008
Tam said...: Having had a Chevy Monza with a pretty-much NASCAR-spec 327, a stripped interior, and 70-series tires on factory rims, I can attest to the giddy virtues of way too much power and nowhere near enough traction.; 9:05 AM, June 14, 2008
Jeffro said...: You had a Monza, Tam? Didja have headers on the beastie?

I had a Monza Mirage, but stock with the 305. The siamesed single exhaust bottomed out on it - so I always wondered how headers and dual pipes would do.

I have no idea how steep the rear gears were, but it would do over 130mph. Considering how it's handling was pretty much wallowing in mud like a hog, that fast was pretty interesting.

It would lay a single black stripe as long as ya wanted it. After paying the tire bill several times, I learned to moderate that behavior.; 9:17 AM, June 14, 2008
the pawnbroker said...: thanks for the rush tam, and the link to my own 48-hr smart owner experience...

if i'da ordered the kaw option i might have kept it...nah, too old for that shit now...but as these things trickle into the market there's gonna be a lot of "tuners"...when i picked mine up the dealer had one on the floor with about 15k of aftermarket stuff; these have been out for several years overseas and they've got some cult stuff going on there.

i don't think the yuppish atlanta lawyer who bought mine will be looking at the pocketracer potential though...he drove up in his new lexus hybrid to pick it up.

like i said in my little road report though, this mousecar is well-built by benz with a hightech rollcage and it's amazing at 70-75 on i-75; this ain't no metro...and even the 3cyl 70hp stock motor with paddleshift had some feel and sound of the old brit roadsters, and they were a blast when they ran...

so when the supply catches up you're gonna see a bunch of these things (and some pretty disparate drivers) out there in all kinds of clothing.

but 327 monza, huh? screw the eurotrash, i'd take back my '66 nova 396 (cue bryan adams fake retrorock song "it was the summer of '69"...where the hell did that 39 years go?) if i can get my brother to unretire from the the tire biz...them wide-ovals are 'spensive!

jtc; 9:52 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Man.

I'm sure you are all thinking what I'm thinking: Perfect. Stealth. Commuter. Rocket.

Needs slightly fatter tires and a bigger muffler though.; 11:12 AM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: There's a classic car place in San Diego that had, last time I was there, a couple Smart Cars, plus a few Smart Roadsters, which apparently are not being imported. I think it's the same guts with a plastic roadster body on top, looks pretty cool.

But lacking the stealth aspect of this little monster. Gawd!!! I used to fantasize about getting a Suzuki Swift and tricking it out, all inside the sheet metal, so it'd look stock from the outside. Never had the time and money... well, had plenty of both, but never simultaneously.; 12:47 PM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Fabio said...
"The only missing thing is a version with raised suspensions, undercarriage protections, roll bar and offroad tyres..."

That's been done as well, Smartcar body on a Unimog chassis.

http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2006-Smart-Forfun2-Concept.htm; 1:11 PM, June 14, 2008
Mike W. said...: That instantly reminds me of this...

http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=uE26moshnO8; 1:51 PM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: pffft amateurs

http://youtube.comwatch?v=KR9Qt6FFSu8feature=related

There ya go.; 2:18 PM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: Something you bunch might find interesting:
At one point, Dodge was making special versions of their neon intended for SCCA. Called the Neon ACR, it had a 150HP from the factory. With bolt on aftermarket parts, it easily breaks 200HP. All in a FWD 4 cylinder car that barely weighs 2600lbs.

I got passed by one 5 years ago on Rte 46 in New Jersey during rushhour. Watching the thing salom through traffic at better than 80mph was jawdropping.; 6:41 PM, June 14, 2008
Drang said...: Omni GLH, anyone?; 9:03 PM, June 14, 2008
Tam said...: HTRN,

Yeah, but that 'Busa motor, if it's even mildly tuned, has probably north of 170hp... at the rear wheels. In a car that weighs probably ~1500 lbs.

The first gen ACR Neons were cool (and the later 260hp SRT 4's were beastie) but they're also a half ton heavier...; 9:23 PM, June 14, 2008
Anonymous said...: that's cute!
would love to have one too!; 3:35 AM, June 16, 2008
Jay G said...: I wonder if you could shoehorn a Grand National 3.8L V6 into that???; 9:04 AM, June 16, 2008
Assrot said...: Hmmm... This would make a nice range buggy. I'd add 4 wheel drive, a gun rack on top and some all terrain tires.

One of the ranges I shoot at is back in the woods a ways. This would be the perfect buggy to get from the parking lot to the firing line.

I got to have me one of these!

:-)

Joe; 8:22 PM, June 18, 2008