Time to break a few rules here.
Having received a crate H-100 motor from the Higashi Corporation, Ardent’s engineers went to work analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. While it had a phenomenal broad torque curve, there were improvements to be made to adapt the power plant to the preferences of Ardent’s buyers.
Ardent’s performance division got involved in the redesign. They decided to change from a single carburetor to dual, but kept the sidedraft configuration originally penned by Higashi. A special crank and connecting rods were devised as a stroker kit for the existing design, compression was raised, and the camshaft was made less aggressive to bring power up in the lower band. This brought the rev limit down somewhat so the new conrods weren’t stressed too much. Power for this new 1302cc configuration rose to 79.5 HP and 72.1 ft-lb of torque. The original torque curve was preserved for the most part, and development of horsepower was very smooth.
Thus started Ardent’s captive import brand: Suzume. The 13G was the first model borne of that collaboration.
Despite the small motor, performance was still quite respectable. The Suzume 13G could reach 100km/h in 10.4 seconds, had a top speed of 185 km/h, and still managed to sip only 6.2l/100 km. Seating for 5 was standard, as was power steering and a 5-speed manual transmission. Ardent applied the same safety features on the Suzume that were found across their entire small-car lineup, including 3-point safety belts with pretensioners up front, tempered glass, door intrusion beams, and more.
A smaller, less expensive option was offered as well, using a mildly modified version of the original H-100 990cc motor. Dubbed the 10S, this model was more basic transportation. It was only available with a 4 speed motor, had narrower tires, and could barely make 160 km/h. Performance wasn’t thrilling, but despite the underpowered engine it still managed 6.30l/100 km.
(tl;dr: Yes, I stroked the motor on the 13G. It seemed the right thing to do. Shouldn’t be illegal since Manche said reciprocating parts could be changed, and technically that’s what most stroker kits are.)
Numeric stats for comparison (10S/13G)…
Tameness: 49.6/44.1
Sportiness: 13.9/22.8
Comfort: 17.2/16.3
Prestige: 9.0/10.6
Safety: 16.4/16.7
Total cost: 5887.04/6597.14
Production units: 123.55/130.09
Edit:
Added the Suzume 10S, as well as total cost and production units.