Autoblog

Americans may be more familiar with the International Race of Champions, IROC for short, due to that race's popularity in the '80s and '90s and for the Chevy Camaros and Dodge Daytonas affixed with the badge. In the rest of the world, though, the more popular series is called the Race of Champions, but the idea is the same. Take top drivers from various racing leagues and pit them in similar cars against each other on a number of different race tracks. This year, the ROC's organizers are testing a bunch of cars to be used for the next event, including the track-ready KTM X-Bow and a wild-sounding contraption that uses twin Suzuki Hayabusa engines driving all four wheels. The actual race will take place in London at Wembley Stadium on December 14 and will feature Tom Kristensen (Team Scandinavia), Michael Schumacher (Team Germany), Sébastien Loeb (Team France), Andy Priaulx (Team Autosport Great Britain), Troy Bayliss (Team Australia), Mattias Ekström (Team Scandinavia), Jenson Button (Team Autosport Great Britain), Mark Webber (Team Australia) and Sebastian Vettel (Team Germany).


[Source: Race of Champions]

Anybody who's ever strapped themselves into a shifter-kart can attest to the fact that they are one of the most exhilarating rides available, and their capabilities are much higher than first expected. That being the case, when swapping the 125cc engine from the go kart with a 1300cc engine from a Suzuki Hayabusa, the resulting machine is nothing if not overpowered. A small blip of the throttle induces massive tire spin and power-slides are available at a moment's notice, possibly less. To handle the power-infusion, the frame was suitably strengthened and elongated with plenty of square-section tubing. We're not so sure that we'd have built this machine in the first place, but now that it's done, we really wish we could get a chance in the drivers seat. Follow along after the break for a video of the machine in action.

[Source: Kart Hayabusa via Jalopnik]

Click on the image above to enlarge

There are few thrills in motorcycling that compare with the sensation of pinning the throttle wide-open on a liter-class sportbike and hanging on for dear life. Of course, there are also a few inherent problems with this operation, though, and one of them is losing control. Another is the cost of replacement body parts (those of the bike, not yours!). And so the streetfighter was born, with owners of sportbikes choosing to remove their damaged plastic bodywork instead of replacing it. As with many trends, a small but fanatical industry has sprouted up to offer ready-made bikes which mimic the streetfighter look. The Suzuki Hayabusa is a prime candidate to get the streetfighter treatment, and BFO Motorcycles has decided to offer a limited run of 100 frame kits for the Japanese falcon-bike. Oddly, the kit also will include a carbon-fiber fairing, making it a true streetfighter in name only. Regardless of what BFO considers this bike, we think that the rendering looks awesome and we can't wait to see one of these in the real world.

[Source: BFO Motorcycles via Motorcycle News]

We've run across plenty of custom motorcycles in our time, and the goal of many of them is to combine the best features of both sportbikes and cruisers into one machine. The Suzuki Hayabusa is arguably the king of the sportbike, and there is no arguing that Harley-Davidson is the owner of both the custom and cruising crowns. We can imagine combining the two to make a laid-back, yet super-fast custom, but the thought of torturing yourself with the feet-back, forward-lean position forced by a sportbike with clip-ons, combined with the shaky, grunty lump of American V-Twin underneath had eluded us... that is, until we saw the Barley. We kind of like the name "Harley-Busa" better, but nobody asked us for our opinion. If they had, we might have questioned the wisdom of taking this particular route in the ongoing effort of making motorcycle bliss, but now that it's done, it's really not half bad. The original plans for this unholy union called for a turbo, and we think that its inclusion could only improve this machine.

If you want to replicate this offbeat creation, you can get the frame from Maximum Motorcycles, and soon, the body-work in carbon fiber from Tricky Air & Billet. If this doesn't strike you as a marriage worth consummating, though, might we suggest the alternate possibility of owning both a Hayabusa and a Harley? Just a thought.

[Source: Cyril Huze Blog]

The unending contest between Suzuki and Kawasaki to see who can build the world's fastest streetbike continues, with Suzuki introducing an all-new Hayabusa for 2008. The bike's engine grows from 1299cc to 1340cc for '08, and a commensurate power jump is expected to let the new 'Busa equal or surpass the numbers put up by Kawasaki's hyper-performance machine, the Ninja ZX-14. Bikeland.org has hi-res pics and full features and specs on the '08 'Busa, which will be joined in showrooms by a naked edition dubbed the "B-King." The price for the the '08 Hayabusa's time-and-space-bending performance: $11,999. Suzuki's official site has the skinny on all the new '08s here.

Follow the jump for a video of the 2008 Hayabusa's reveal.

[Source: Bikeland.org]

If four's good, then eight must be better - that's the idea behind this jewel-like V8 engine built by Hartley Enterprises from two Suzuki Hayabusa four-cylinder powerplants.

The 75-degree V8 displaces 2.8 liters, weighs only 200 lb and puts out 400 hp at a window-rattling 10,000 rpm. Torque peaks at respectable 245 ft-lbs (at 7500 rpm!), although dyno runs for a 2.6 liter version show a fairly flat curve. Aside from boring out the 'busa block from 81mm to 83mm, none of the wide variety of performance enhancements available for the bike version have been applied to the HE V8, so it's safe to say we're nowhere near the performance limits of the design.

Hartley's diminutive V8 is produced to order, with the 2.8 liter version priced under $30,000, depending on options. Check out the Hartley Enterprises website for more details, including video of a dyno run with the engine installed in a Caterham 7.

Thanks for the tip, Matt!

[Source: Hartley Enterprises]

The Suzuki Hayabusa is one of the fastest things I have ever seen in motion. A friend riding his was in front of me once at a stop, and the road ahead of him was long, straight, and wide open. The only way to describe how it looked from my car was "Millenium Falcon makes the jump to hyperspace." And to think, his was only mildly tuned.

The 'Busa's 1300cc engine is strong enough to see duty in cars, too. The Westfield Megabusa immediately leaps to mind, and the German Car Blog has tipped us off to another example of Hayabusa-powered four-wheeled fun courtesy of the madmen at H.R. Engineering in Essex.

These guys have taken a Mk1 VW Golf, converted it to rear-wheel-drive, and dropped a turbocharged, 350-horsepower Hayabusa mill under the hood. It looks like a ton of fun, sounds completely evil, and its acceleration is, well... rather brisk, as you'll see in the pair of vids embedded after the jump.

Chewy... PUNCH IT!

[Source: H.R. Engineering, YouTube via German Car Blog]

If you stick an engine that can rev well into five-digits in any article of wheeled transport, we start getting weak in the knees. Although we've already seen what happens when you stick a 'Busa motor in DC's diminutive Smart ForTwo, we haven't seen this particular transplant recipient until now.

Peter Bee found the 60-ish horses available from his ForTwo inadequate for his daily duties (no, we have no idea what his duties entail) and sought the help of the British firm Z Cars to add a little boost to his compact commuter. Z Cars are the blokes that have the dastardly tendency of throwing R1 motors into classic Minis and they graciously accepted the challenge that Mr. Bee laid down.

The result is a ForTwo equipped with a 180-hp GSXR1000 motor that can run the 1320 in 12.4 and reaches 60 in a few shakes above 4 seconds.

What do you do with that kind of forward progression? Naturally you meet up with a Ferrari F430 and challenge it to a drag.

Want more information about the "Diablo" and its creators? It's all available with a simple click of 'Read' below.