One of my favourite warm hatchbacks is the Suzuki Swift Sport, a dinky little hatchback that only offers 126bhp but serves up far more fun than that figure might suggest. However, if you were thinking that 123bhp isn’t enough then you should check out the Monster NX16, a tuned version of the Swift Sport that’s just been released in Japan by tuning company Monster Sport.
The Suzuki’s 1.6-litre engine has been given a new ECU and a sports exhaust to increase power up to 145bhp. That might not sound a lot, but it pushes up the power/weight ratio from 113bhp/ton to 133bhp/ton. That should make the Swift a bit more of a challenge for the likes of the Fiesta ST and Abarth 500.
Monster Sport also off some chassis tweaks and body extras, and you can spend anything from 2,205,000 up to 2,835,000 Yen for the complete treatment. That’s £14,800 up to a mighty £19,100, which seems like a lot of money for a Suzuki Swift. They’re not available to order in the UK, but keep an eye out for grey imports in the future.