Swapping engines is rarely executed with finesse, but that doesn’t imply it can’t be phenomenal. There’s a certain charm in transplanting a high-revving motorcycle powerplant into a diminutive vehicle that never fails to amuse us. Perhaps the desire to witness a Smart ForTwo tear itself asunder when injected with a 1,000cc engine drives this fascination. However, occasionally these conversions not only function but are also incredibly thrilling to observe.
Hillclimb Monsters recently shared a video featuring a dramatically altered Fiat 126 Proto driven by Robert Barabas at a regional Romanian hillclimb competition. The vehicle’s widebody kit likely prevents it from flipping over, as it is equipped with a 1,300cc powerplant sourced from a Suzuki Hayabusa.
This modified “Fiatbusa” is the brainchild of Cyclon Motorsport, a Romanian automotive tuning workshop known for executing extravagant engine swaps like this one. Allegedly weighing less than 1,500 pounds, the vehicle delivers 187 horsepower, revving up to an impressive 13,000 RPM. To put it in perspective, the most potent version of the Polski-Fiat 126p, upon which this car is based, generated a mere 24 horsepower from a 704cc 2-cylinder engine.
The Hayabusa engine represents a significant improvement, and the Fiat’s recent body modifications and rear spoiler are proving effective in maintaining stability, as evidenced by its consistent performance in the video.
