This Suzuki deserved more than a videogame existence

This is the Suzuki Concept S2, which was revealed to a very excitable world at the Frankfurt motor show in 2003. Ah, what a golden occasion that was – debuts were made for the likes of the MkV Golf, Seat Altea and Jaguar X-Type estate. A truly great time to be alive. 

Fun fact – the first-generation Suzuki Swift was the second-generation Suzuki Swift over in Japan. Aren’t they wacky over there? What we know as the Ignis was badged Swift in Suzuki’s home market. Which meant that the second-generation Ignis was the first-generation Ignis when it went on sale in Japan in 2016. But yes, this is just the Suzuki Swift. The company wanted to preview the car’s styling before it went on the market in 2004, and basically just gave the whole game away. The Concept S2 did have some fun tricks up its sleeve though. 

Well, one trick. The Concept S2 had one trick up its sleeve – a three-piece “electrically rotating/retracting roof structure”. Yes, this Swift-in-all-but-name was a stealth convertible. Just imagine driving down the road, minding your own business. Maybe pedestrians are looking at you and thinking “man, I feel sorry for them, they don’t get to enjoy this glorious weather with that fixed steel roof”, and BAM. You drop it like it is indeed quite hot. Cue a stunned silence followed by a spontaneous round of applause. 

Bet you’re fun at parties. No, if we’re going to get ‘technical’ about it, the roof probably wasn’t viable for everyday ‘use’. But even if it didn’t work, Suzuki painted some nice blue skies on the inside of the roof lining so you’d feel chipper anyway.

It was very futuristic inside the Suzuki Concept S2 – this was the area of the car where the designers were told to give nothing away as to the final look of the production Swift. In retrospect they probably should have aimed a little lower and not raised expectation too high. It looks lovely and futuristic inside the Concept S2 in a way in which the Swift… didn’t. One trend the designers got bang on was the giant screen in the middle of the dashboard. Very 2020.

Looking back now we can see that Suzuki was hiding some very exciting Easter eggs in the Concept S2. If you were a Swift aficionado (there are many) you might have scratched your head looking at the range that launched in 2004 – for there was a selection of petrol and diesel engines ranging in size from 1.2 to 1.5 litres of capacity, but nothing matching the Concept S2’s magnificent 1.6-litre number with four cylinders, 16 valves and dual overhead cams. But gasp, that was the engine in the 2005 Swift Sport. A real peach, with its revvy, naturally aspirated lust for life. 

Well it did, of course, because it was actually the Suzuki Swift in disguise. But then, of course, it didn’t, because none of us are driving around in super cool stealthy convertible superminis with great engines. Given the rapturous reception that the first-generation Swift Sport received the world over, you can only imagine the plaudits a truly capable all-rounder like the Concept S2 would have received. It would have been Top Gear Car of the Year for every single year since 2004, probably. 

Fear not, because you actually can buy a Suzuki Concept S2 for yourself, if you happen to have a copy of Gran Turismo 6 and 35,000 credits spare. A bargain, really. The car actually goes back as far as Gran Turismo 4: Prologue in 2003, but you couldn’t buy it back then, it was a cheeky bonus for doing well in your driving lessons. Fingers crossed it’ll still be on the Suzuki forecourt in 2022’s 2 Gran 2 Turismo, or whatever it’ll be called. A virtual drive is a nice compromise, we suppose, but we can’t help but feel like we’ve been robbed.