Car enthusiasts of a certain age will remember with much affection the great writer LJK Setright, a frequent Autocar contributor who was much admired for his unparalleled erudition and immense technical knowledge.
This Bristol-fancying tour de force once owned a Suzuki SC100, bought to see him through a brief hiatus but owned for long enough to influence those for whom his every motoring utterance was gospel. One such person was me, and because Setright had one, I bought one too.
When it was subsequently written off, I bought his. I bought it when it was 10 years old and kept it for another seven years. Alas, I then gave it away, and when I see how highly prized surviving examples of this charismatic little car have become since, I weep with shame.
The SC100 was born out of a Japanese-market kei car called the Fronte Coupé. Launched in 1971 and penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, it looked, if you were to squint and stand a long way back (a very long way back, and possibly even close your eyes), a bit like a Porsche 911.
It was a two-door coupé and rear-engined too, but unlike the 911 it was only just over 10ft long and powered by a weeny two-stroke engine. So was the subsequent update, called Cervo, which hit the Japanese streets in 1977.
In 1979, the Cervo came to the land of the British, where it was known as the SC100 GX, SC100 or, informally, the Whizzkid.
For the UK, this tiny 2+2 got a 970cc four-stroke four-cylinder engine, transversely mounted and water-cooled. Its maximum power of 47bhp is developed at a lowly 4500rpm, and it produces an impressive 61lb ft of torque at just 2500rpm. It needs that grunt, too, because its four gear ratios are widely spaced, although at just 630kg it’s fair to say there wasn’t really much Whizzkid to overcome.
In theory, its top speed is just 82mph, but owners know it can go even faster than that, given a good following wind and the swallowing of a brave pill or two.
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"it looked....a bit like a Porsche 911".....no
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I like how today's Ignis references those three "scallops" in the C-pillar. Apparently their shape and position should itself be a reference to the three swords of the Samurai, long, medium and short (in oJapanese: Katana, Tanto and whatever was the name of the short one). Japanese cars have their iconic references too...