Swift Sport

Output is up 4 horsepower, torque is improved by 52 lb-ft, and it now weighs less than 1000 kg.

Rental cars get no respect. They're abused, misused and flogged mercilessly as athletes in Rental Car Olympics. And that's just at your everyday airport rental counter. The torture gets extreme for rental cars thrashed around Germany's infamous Nürburgring.

Despite the on-again, off-again rumors about its potential voyage to the United States, the Suzuki Swift still remains a tasty piece of forbidden fruit. A shame, too, especially since this new Sport version sounds like it'd be quite the enjoyable steer.

It's compact, sporty, has a manual transmission... and we don't expect it to arrive Stateside anytime soon. We're talking about the all-new Suzuki Swift Sport, which is set to make its official debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The compact hot hatch is a tuned version of the standard Swift, with power rated at 134 horses and torque at 118 pound-feet, fed to the wheels

Click image for a gallery of Suzuki's offerings at Geneva

If you've listened to our most recent podcast, it's apparent that a couple of us are eagerly awaiting the arrival of an important addition to the Suzuki lineup: the Swift Sport.

Next month in Paris, Suzuki will be unveiling the Project Splash concept (they're calling it a "clinic model") , a modern-looking-tall-bodied hatchback based on the Swift subcompact. The Splash will show off a new 1.2-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and seat five passengers.