The Chevy Sprint Turbo is one of the most interesting captive imports that GM ever marketed in the United States. The subcompact Chevy Sprint was a rebadged Suzuki Cultus and the predecessor of the Geo Metro, while the Sprint Turbo was its high-performance, hot hatch variant. Now, there’s a rare opportunity to get a clean example: this 1987 Chevy Sprint Turbo is up for auction in Las Vegas on Hagerty.
Power comes from Suzuki’s 1.0L G10T I3, the intercooled, turbocharged version of the G10 I3 that powered the regular Sprint, and, later, the Geo Metro. In addition to the turbocharger, it has EFI, while the non-turbo G10 has throttle body injection. Output is routed to the front wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission.
The Sprint Turbo pumps out a whopping 70 horsepower and 79 pound-feet of torque, which sounds modest, but remember, the car weighs 1,633 pounds, and this was a 27 percent power increase over the naturally aspirated 3-cylinder. The estimated 0-60 mph time of the Sprint Turbo is 8.7 seconds and it scorches the quarter mile in 16.7 seconds.
This Sprint Turbo got some restoration work done in 2012. It was repainted in White (color code 26U), the seats were reupholstered with multicolored cloth, the dash was restored, a power hatch was added, the stereo was upgraded to a Pioneer unit with Bluetooth, and a modest rear spoiler was added.
The attached Carfax vehicle history report begins in 1991 and shows that it was California-owned until it moved to Nevada in 2021. The most recent mileage entry on the Carfax was in December of 2024 when it had 42,519 miles on it, and its odometer currently shows 42,570 miles. There are mileage inconsistencies on the Carfax that are likely clerical errors, but it’s possible that the odometer has rolled over at some point.
As of this writing, there are no bids on this Sprint Turbo and the auction ends on Thursday, June 26th. It’s rare to see one of these early hot hatches as well preserved as this one. Even though it’s a Suzuki, it’s an interesting piece of GM’s history.
Comments
Kind of a cool little piece of GM’s past.
This looks awfully like a rebadge of the Toyota Startlet from the same era.
At the time, these were not particularly desirable cars. They were econo boxes. I had a two Sunbirds during that time frame. Those cars with leather steering wheels and upscale interiors with AC and a cassette player were light years ahead in being a nice ride. Who saves something like this and why? What is the story?
The Chevrolet Sprint was a rebadged Suzuki Swift. I owned a 1987 Chevrolet Sprint and it still remains one of my favorite cars ever! I drove it across the United States and average 56 mpg. Back then, gasoline was cheap and I spent $60.00 on gasoline going from coast to coast. Great fun! Great memories!
I had a little grocery getter, an early 80’s Ford Festiva, it was the same car, different badge.
I saw a new one (’87 in red) for sale at a dealership in CA and bought it. I loved the car.
Had an ’85 4-door Sprint 5-speed. Top speed with a/c running was 75 MPH but I got an honest 45 MPG consistently! It really was a great grad-school car!
I have an 1987 Pontiac Firefly, owned since new. I am in Canada looking for the rear muffler in the exhaust system. No luck. Have searched aftermarket. No dealers remaining in Canada. Suzuki has left Canada only motorcycles remaining. My car was built in Japan and sold thru GM Pontiac dealers back in ‘the day’. My car is a represented example of an 87 Firefly and has only 36,000 miles on the od, 3 cylinder, manual 5 speed transmission. Summer driven only. Any help will be greatly appreciated.