New Car Intro: Suzuki Twin minicar

Suzuki Motor Co introduced its new Twin minicar in Japan featuring a 660 cc engine and a fuel consumption of under 3 liter per 100 km.

The Twin was first seen as the PU3 commuter vehicle prototype at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show. The almost finished version was previewed at the 2002 Tokyo Motor Show.

The 2-seater "kei-car" is either powered by a 660 cc gasoline engine capable of 32 kW (44 bhp) @ 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 57 Nm @ 3500 rpm or a 192V electric powertrain with a power of 5 kW between 1500-4500 pm and 32 Nm of torque. It is close to the MCC Smart in size and philosophy.

The car which is only 2735 mm long weighs 560-600 kg in petrol form and 700-730 kg in electric form. It is available with a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic gearbox (petrol version), or a 4-speed automatic (electric version).

Only 200 units are planned to be sold monthly but it seems that the car could form the basis for a successor to the tiny Suzuki Capuccino two-seater produced during the early 1990s.