Ginza meets Bollywood
Japanese-Indian collaboration creates a funky new Suzuki three-door for European consumptionSuzuki's Concept A-Star was first shown at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January this year -- but its real introduction to the world at large is at this year's Geneva show.
The new Suzuki will be built in India as the Suzuki Alto from October this year at Maruti Suzuki India's Manesar plant, with full production under way by December. It will be sold in India and other places, but is primarily aimed at European markets.
The A-Star was a joint design effort with "collaboration between Indian and Japanese designers working under a Japanese designer," and uses a new 1.0-litre three-cylinder alloy engine, also built in India.
The concept A-Star is equipped with ventilated disc brakes on all four wheels, as well as anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and a version of the Mercedes-Benz ESP electronic stability control system.
Dual front and side airbags are also part of the A-Star's safety package.
The three-door A-Star adopts the ultra high-waisted look favoured by just about every contemporary car stylist, although Suzuki claims some motorcycle influence at the rear wheel arches to remind us of its two-wheeled activities.
And the concept's interior would be conventional were it not for the illuminated fluoro pink panel running across the dash, and the violet lighting of the instruments.
The A-Star is the fifth -- and smallest -- vehicle in Suzuki's global model strategy.
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