SEMA Preview: Suzuki Bringing Kizashi Quartet to Las Vegas

Suzuki is hoping to drum up interest in its new Kizashi mid-sized sedan with a quartet of customized versions that will be officially unveiled at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas next week. Suzuki has already released some info on three of the cars built by different tuner shops, while a fourth car, built by the folks at Import Tuner Magazine, will be kept secret until the show.

First up is the Road Race Motorsports Kizashi (pictured above). With a complete aerodynamic kit, a new front grille and vented hood, Road Race gives the mid-sized sedan more track appeal. And helping the car’s performance to live up to its looks are a set of Progress Technology springs and sway bars and Rotora brakes. Performance modifications are kept to a minimum, but Road Race did include a dual exhaust system as well as a new air intake and a reprogrammed ECU.

The lighting experts at Delta Tech also took a stab at the Kizashi, outfitting it with LED and HID lights. The car also has an RK Sport aero kit, a new cold air intake and exhaust system, a well as Koni coilovers.

Looking like an extra from a crash scene in the first Fast & Furious movie (from before or after the crash?) is the Westside Group’s Kizashi Soliel. With “soliel” being the French word for the sun, we do see the relevance, as both hurt your eyes when you stare at them.The car gets a notably extreme aero kit, with a massive rear spoiler and exhaust pipes that are integrated into the bumper. In a nod to Suzuki’s impressive motorcycle building, the Westside guys did use a custom Yoshimura exhaust setup.

In addition to these three Kizashis, Suzuki also shipped one of its new Equator pickups to the folks at ICON Vehicle Dynamics. They slapped on a set of long tube headers and a cat back exhaust for added power from the 4.0-liter V6, while ICON tossed on its own coilover suspension, Total Chaos upper control arms and 2.5-inch shocks for some added off-road capability. The truck was then outfitted with Bushwacker fender flares and a set of Goodyear Wrangler MTR tires on some Trail Ready wheels.

Suzuki won’t have an official presence at this year’s SEMA Show, so the collection of five Suzuki vehicles will be displayed throughout the venue.

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More on all of the 2009 SEMA Show Suzukis after the jump:

2009 SEMA SHOW SERVES AS BACKDROP FOR SUZUKI DREAMSCAPE

0.Road Race Motorsports builds on Suzuki’s track-bred tradition.

0.Delta Tech embellishes Kizashi’s premium (without the premium) assets.

0.Westside Group enhances Kizashi’s European dynamic with of Europe’s dynamic.

0.Import Tuner mods are both under the hood and over the top.

0.ICON Vehicle Dynamics builds on Suzuki Equator’s award-winning platform.

BREA, Calif. (October 28, 2009) – While the Concept Kizashi series debuted globally over the past two years, (in Frankfurt, Tokyo and New York), U.S. anticipation for the production Kizashi was met by a number of custom builders – and members of Suzuki management – asking the proverbial “what if?” What if you melded Kizashi’s production underpinnings and artfully-crafted sheet metal with modifications fully appropriate to a concept’s debut? With European sport sedans serving as Kizashi’s inspiration, and Suzuki’s design and engineering team constructing a platform fully appropriate to a global marketplace, the all-new Kizashi serves as the perfect platform for those stylistic and performance mods integral to America’s motoring DNA. The challenge went out and four custom shops responded. The results of those combined efforts are on display next week at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.

Road Race Motorsport’s Platinum Edition Kizashi

As one of the first custom builders to recognize the potential of Suzuki’s vehicles, the presence of Road Race at SEMA comes as no surprise. Given the Kizashi platform’s promise – and the fluid, almost organic sheet metal clothing it – Road Race supplies its own very unique take on Kizashi.

SEMA visitors can enjoy Road Race’s Sport Body kit exterior which employs Carbontrix custom bumpers, rear spats and diffuser. Road Race has crafted a custom grill, vented hood and made the Kizashi its own ‘Platinum Edition’ graphics and a blackened roof. These visual modifications are supported by a platform perfectly suited to Las Vegas Motor Speedway or a high-speed drive on I-15 (what happens in Vegas doesn’t have to stay in Vegas…).

Progress Technology provided the sport springs and front and rear sway bars. Road Race installed its own chassis stiffeners, and Rotora brings the custom Kizashi to a stop with 330mm slotted rotors up front, supplemented by Road Race’s own 260mm slotted rotors in the rear. Under the vented hood, the sweetness continues with a proprietary custom intake system, Zeitronix ZT-2 data logging system and Road Race engine management. The modifications are concealed – until ignition – by a painted-to-match engine cover, and announced by Road Race’s own ‘Integrated Sport’ dual exhaust system. The Road Race Kizashi can be seen at the Zeitronix Booth #21212.

Delta Tech Engineering Kizashi

Delta Tech Engineering, a specialist in vehicle lighting, started with a gutted – and lightened – Kizashi body shell. While Delta Tech took care of under the hood, with cold air intake and performance exhausts, RK Sport developed a body kit, Katzkin supplied the custom seating, and Koni enhanced the Kizashi’s already composed ride with its own coilovers and shocks. Lighting, engineered in house by Delta Tech, is LED and HID. Sound equipment upgrades are provided by Kenwood. The Delta Tech Kizashi may be seen at Booth #23526 in the Central Hall.

Westside Auto Group Kizashi Soleil

Integrating vintage European elegance with the high-performance DNA of Suzuki’s Hayabusa, Westside Group’s Kizashi Soleil (French for ‘masculine sun’) incorporates numerous distinct touches, all executed to make an individualistic statement within the unique template supplied by Suzuki’s own execution. Vehicle modifications performed by Westside include custom two-toned paint (Napa Merlot/Bronzed Amber), redesigned front and rear fenders, custom air apertures, fabricated grill, shaved and modified door handles and new front fascia. In back, a redesigned rear deck lid equipped with a GT Super Car spoiler, and a redesigned rear bumper is equipped with custom Yoshimura exhaust. Planting the Soleil to the ground are early-release Bridgestone Potenza mounted on R-Worx 7-spoke wheels. The Westside Group Kizashi will be on display in the show car area adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Import Tuner Kizashi

No outlet speaks better to the ‘tuner’ audience than Import Tuner magazine. With its Kizashi the project build team went for the vehicular jugular, with performance enhancements under the hood, appropriate suspension mods connecting those enhancements to the ground, and cosmetic modifications to provide the appropriate visualization for Import Tuner’s own editorial visualization.

With a nod to both the SEMA Show and its own Los Angeles – based roots, the Import Tuner Kizashi provides a tune-up to an already class-leading sport sedan. The Import Tuner Kizashi will be on display in the show car area adjacent to the Las Vega

ICON Vehicle Dynamics Equator

Using Suzuki’s award-winning Equator platform as its base, ICON Vehicle Dynamics taps into a variety of Southern California-based suppliers to assemble a more aggressive interpretation of Suzuki’s off-road recipe. Under the hood, Doug Thorley long-tube headers and cat-back exhaust amplify the Equator’s class-leading 4.0 liter V6. And for off-road exploration, the Equator’s suspension is enhanced with ICON’s own performance coilovers in front and 2.5-inch piggyback shocks supporting linked to Total Chaos upper control arms.

The enhanced power – and capability – is connected to the less-traveled path with Goodyear Wrangler MT/R tires mounted to Trail Ready bead-lock wheels; the Equator’s bodywork is protected by Bushwacker fender flares. AMP Research bed extender and LightForce lights add to both utility and safety. ICON’s Equator can be seen at SEMA booth #32173.