History made
Roll back a few decades to 1989, and the *Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado, USA, saw a rather odd entry roll onto the start line. A twin-engined Suzuki Cultus made its way up the hill; unfortunately, they would not finish, but it was the first outing of many for the Japanese brand that would see them set their sites on a title.
Related: Suzuki Swift Sport tackles the prestigious Simola Hillclimb
During the next few years, Suzuki tackled the hillclimb again and again and would eventually reign supreme when, at the hands of master driver Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, a twin engine Escudo hillclimb special took the overall king of the hill title in 1995. For almost two decades, Suzuki has taken on the hillclimb challenge, not only at Pikes Peak but also at the Race to the Sky in New Zealand. Tajima-san has gone on to win further titles in an updated V6 Escudo and then the legendary XL7.
Back with a bang! - Simola HillClimb 2023
Running up that hill
Suzuki has proven itself in hillclimb competitions around the world with a number of different models but it is at the legendary Simola Hillclimb that the sporty little Swift has made its mark in. Since beginning its sponsorship in 2020 and officially entering vehicles in 2022, the brand has entered a mix of models with manual and automatic transmissions to show how close the two were to each other and to prove that both delivered the same rewarding driver experience. The 2024 edition saw Suzuki SA enter three identical cars to put the drivers skills to the test and leave the easy part to the cars.
The hills are alive! - Simola Hillclimb
The results are in
The three drivers improved their times after each run, eventually breaking through all existing lap times from previous years and even setting a personal best record up the hill for the brand. The 2024 Suzuki Swift Sport models employ a 1.4l turbo petrol engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and can put down 103kW and 230Nm, allowing the drivers to set the below times by the end of the event.
Tom Falkiner - 53.51 secs
Wesley Greybe - 54.22 secs
Brendon Staniforth - 54.32 secs
“We decided to support the Simola Hill Climb as they emerged from the lockdown with restrictions on crowd attendance and a general loss of momentum and then entered the Simola Hill Climb in 2022 for the first time to show that you could have fun and be competitive without breaking the bank. Motoring can be fun and exciting and it should be accessible to more people, that is our philosophy at Suzuki Auto, and we found the same thinking among the organisers of the Hill Climb."
Brandon Carpenter - Brand Marketing Manager
*source - https://www.monster-sport.com/ppihc
