Hirochi. The name doesn't exactly roll of the tongue, does it? Anyway, Hirochi is world-famous for its rather unusual, even odd vehicles. A prime example is its line-up, starting with their 1976 collaboration with Civetta, the Grand Sport racing car, which debuted at the 36-hours of Rome road race in 1977, and won the next year. And while the Grand Sport is a gorgeous car, it isn't the only oddity in Hirochi's impressive line-up, which spans over eighty years. Another is their notoriously fast SBR4, which in the United States recently had to have its name changed to... Serbu. Why Serbu, I don't know, and likely will never know. The point of this article, though, is not the Grand Sport, or the SBR4. No, this article is about their entrance into the sport-sedan market: the Sunburst. The Sunburst, coequally known as the "Sburst", or even the Burst, was first unveiled in 2008, in it's Global Rally Cross livery, which proudly said, in big, bold letters "DREID", a homage to the ETK I-Series GRX Rally, which Hirochi worked on. The brief history of the Sunburst is that it was based of the 1998 Tsunami Concept Car, which was unveiled at the Salt Lake City Auto Show, and was designed from the ground up to the safest, most user friendly Hirochi yet, while still maintaining the performance edge Hirochi is known for. As a result, the design crew worked round the clock for over five years, from 2003 to 2008, to design the new car, and the result was... Exciting. Shown off first at the Salt Lake City Auto Show, in it's Dreid GRX livery, the Sunburst would prove to be a top contender for "Concept Car of The Year." But, does it live up to the hype? To be honest... No. It exceeds it. As an entry-level sports sedan, the Sunburst is nothing new, having taken over where the hazardously named Kamikaze once sat. It's no ETK 800, but the Sunburst is still a very fine car, depending on which particular model you buy, and how much you're willing to pay. There are a number of variants for the Sunburst, the most of any Hirochi to date, and they get pricey. For $22000 you can get the base model, which has a measly 1.8L inline-4. For $30000, you can get the Sport, which is what I drove, which boosts the power output, thanks to an in-house developed turbo, borrowed from the Kamikaze. If you're adventurous, for $45000, you can get both the GRX, and the Sport RS, which are virtually the same. As a result, when people brag about whether or not they bought a Hirochi GRX or a Sunburst Sport RS, all I can do is sit and shake my head, wondering how people can get so... Brash, over a car. As for the car itself, the Sport model I drove was as expected for a mid-level sport-sedan. The steering was quick and responsive, the braking was immaculate, thanks to a very strict ABS system, which prevents the brakes from locking up. Pinning it, the car accelerates quick, and it wants to be a supercar, even though it isn't. The lines of the car are gorgeous, but that's to be expected of Hirochi by now. The suspension, though, is rather stiff and makes the ride quite uncomfortable. If one is willing to look past those faults, it's quite clear that Hirochi knew exactly what they were doing with the sport-sedan formula, and they set out to perfect it. Unfortunately, though, there was a major recall in 2012, in which the computer controlled ABS would fail, and the brakes would overheat, potentially catching fire. It was because of this, and in-house squabbling which would eventually lead to the end of the mighty Sunburst in 2014, and Hirochi has yet to announce a successor. I would love to see Hirochi continue their success in the Global Rally Cross with a newer, faster, and safer rally car. - Gordon
