The wraps are off the Suzuki Misano EV roadster concept, commissioned by Suzuki from the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin, Italy. For decades, Suzuki has been making compact cars as well as a wide range of motorcycles, and to signify the company’s ‘two souls’, Suzuki wanted a concept that would represent the best of both worlds. A team of 24 masters students – from countries including India, Italy, Turkey, France, Lebanon, Israel, Spain, Albania and Belgium – at IED Turin set to work on this concept in 2020, which has been named after the Misano World Circuit motorcycle racetrack.
At 4,000 mm in length, 1,750 mm in width and just 1,000 mm in height, the Suzuki Misano is a small, wide and low roadster with two seats, but not in the traditional side-by-side layout. To recreate the motorcycling experience, the Suzuki Misano has a tandem seating layout, with the cockpit offset to the left, and there’s even a small windscreen to add to the two-wheeler effect. In fact, Suzuki went a step ahead and swapped out the steering wheel for a motorcycle handlebar-style yoke!
As a result, there’s only a single rollover hoop on the left side, and the battery pack and a trunk are what you’ll find on the right side of the Misano. However, no details on the battery pack itself or any other technical details have been shared.
In terms of styling, the Suzuki Misano sports clean lines and smooth surfacing, with arrow-shaped LED lights adding some aggression to the face. A glass panel has been incorporated into the door on the driver’s side (there’s no door on the right side), rose gold accents offset the concept’s grey paint scheme, OZ Racing wheels – shod in Pirelli tyres – add volume to the wheel arches and standouts at the back are the slim LED tail-lights and a full-size diffuser.
There is no word on whether Suzuki envisions the Misano concept as a precursor to a future production sportscar. Suzuki has collaborated with IED in the past, and while the Misano has plenty of show car elements – such as the handlebar in place of a steering wheel – it is also not too far removed from a road-ready sportscar. Suzuki is hoping to make a big push into the world of electric vehicles, and an all-electric sportscar could well reaffirm its image as a maker of compact-yet-fun cars.
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