The weird and the whacky dominated the Suzuki stand with the inclusion of the Regina concept and the Q-Concept.
The awkwardly titled Regina demonstrated that Suzuki is clearly not scared to the think outside of the box: the rather cutesy city car looking much like something Citroen would have been proud of in the 1970s.
Under the bonnet, things are a little more conventional. The Regina is powered by an 800cc turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine and the now-obligatory stop/start and regenerative braking are also included.
The Q-Concept is essentially a two-seater with circular doors on each side. Yep, it looks ridiculous, and yep, it looks like it’s nothing more than a copy of Renault’s Twizy production car. Inside, there’s plenty of modern, impractical switchgear that will never ever see the light of day, to go with an electrical powertrain that’ll barely power a hairdryer. It’s, supposedly, suitable for rides with a radius of 10km, which suggests you might as well buy a decent bike.
Alongside the ridiculous Q-Concept was the more sedate Swift EV Hybrid. It’s a plug-in hybrid with an electric engine and a conventional petrol engine.
On electric power alone the Swift can cover about 20 miles, but when the battery runs low, an engine-driven generator automatically starts powering the motor and charging the battery, which extends the car’s range. A full charge takes about an hour and a half.
For more information on the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, click here.
