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Suzuki didn't even bother holding a press conference at the Chicago Auto Show this year, but the little car company that could loves to tune its cars for us, and a new one was present at McCormick Place. The Road Race SX4 was dialed in by the well-known craftsmen at Road Race Motorsports in Santa Fe, CA. Based on the 5-door SX4, this tuner car features a Road Race SRI intake system, a piggyback ECU to eek out a few more horsepower from the car's 2.0L four-cylinder, a catback exhaust and aftermarket pulley system. The car sits atop sport springs from Road Race and front and rear anti-roll bars keep thing in check. The SX-4's all-wheel drive is also now tasked with rotating a set of 18-inch Enkei NTO+3 wheels wrapped in Toyo rubber. The car's exterior, meanwhile, is awash in a two-tone paint job. The roof racks have been deleted for a smoother look, though a Carbontrix front sport lip and vented carbon fiber hood were added to up its street cred. The interior benefits from a Carbontrix shift known and Suzuki's own Suzuki Workds Techno fiber trim kit.

With the tuning scene dying down a bit, the purpose of an exercise like the Road Race Suzuki SX-4 may be called in question, but we doubt Suzuki cares.

Related posts:

Suzuki Concept-X2
Detroit Auto Show: Suzuki Concept X
Suzuki will debut two more concepts at SEMA

2010 is going to landmark year for automakers. General Motors plans to roll out its first commercial fuel cell vehicles by decade's end, while Chrysler may debut the Imperial. Hyundai plans to be one of the world's top five automakers by then, though its current leadership shake up may temporarily send it roadside.

Suzuki is now joining the 2010 club with the ambitious goal of tripling its sales by that time. Quarter sales this year were three times that of  2005. which already was a record year for the small automaker, mostly by dint of its rapidly expanding lineup. According to Koichi Suzuki, president of American Suzuki Motor Corp., the company feels Americans are more receptive to its products, especially its small, fuel efficient vehicles. Suzuki not only plans to increase its product lineup (pictured is the XL-7), but upgrading current dealerships while simultaneously adding new ones. Over 300 Suzuki dealerships will be fully renovated and 60 new ones will opened by the end of 2006.

Related: Suzuki to close Chevrolet shop in Japan
Suzuki stepping out
Suzuki shares on the upswing after GM stock dumpage


[Source: The Buffalo News]

Suffice it to say that Suzuki has never stunned North American consumers with beautiful automotive designs. In point of fact, reviewing their history reveals a certain manic quality, little of it pretty. Oddball propositions like the toy-like X-90 and character-free Esteem have given way to the likes of Suzuki's ill-proportioned Aerio and milquetoast non-statements on the order of the Verona and Forenza. But there are tangible signs that the automaker is finally finding the plot– the inexpensive Italdesign-penned Reno and the tweener SX4 crossover are both attractive propositions. But the offering most likely to become the company's poster child is the all-new-for 2006 Grand Vitara.

A direct replacement for its tired, boxy predecessor that reigned from 1999-2004, the new Grand Vitara is infinitely more compelling with even just a cursory glance. By comparison, yuppies ought to be clamoring for the reborn GV like it's next year's Ikea catalog. Simply put, it's a looker. The strong lines of its clamshell-style hood set the tone, creating a defining ridge across the top of the rectilinear grille, lending the clear-lensed headlamps a bit of edge. The former element is of the blacked-out cross-hatch variety, with a thin, u-shaped chrome lip adding definition and a bit of class. Even when viewed from the dead-on, the GV's meaty fender flares lend it a properly butch stance, particularly as they mold so nicely into the bumper, itself augmented by a pair of blisters housing auxiliary driving lamps. Complaints? Well, the chrome 'S' badge on the nose is a bit outsized, coming across like a Superman logo reinterpreted by an anime artist. But it's hard to blame Suzuki's designers for wanting to get the message out that they're finally in the business of making attractively styled vehicles.

(Click here for the full walk-around, along with more commentary)

GM liquidating its relationship with Suzuki may turn out to be the best thing that could happen to the eastern automaker. Many Suzuki models owe their lives to other GM products, including the new XL-7 that's based on GM's Theta platform, but the company will be branching out on its own with vehicles like the SX4 that debuted on this continent in New York and is reportedly going to enter WRC competition next year. There also plans to bring back the Swift, which has evolved into a highly regarded sub-compact abroad. Finally, there are replacements for the Aerio, Verona and Forenza in the works that have no ties with GM ware.

[Source: Inside Line]

Already available in Europe as the Suzuki SX-4 and Fiat Sedici after its Geneva Motor Show debut, the SX-4 crossover jumps the pond to U.S. showrooms later this year. The five-door hatch is targeted squarely at younger buyers (although it ought to be a popular tag-along vehicle for the RV demographic as well), or as Suzuki likes to call them "Life Enthusiasts." The full-on rally concept exhibited alongside the street version may point to a higher-performance version down the road, and certainly won't hurt the SX-4's AWD/all-conditions image.

In the suddenly crowded small car segment, the Suzuki sets itself apart as the lowest priced all-wheel drive vehicle sold in the U.S., with prices in the $15,000 to $18,000 range.

Live shots from Eric, press shots from Suzuki and full specs - all yours after the jump.