Is our 0.6-litre Suzuki Cappuccino faster than a Mk1 MX-5? | TRACK BATTLE Ft. Abbie Eaton

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We bought a tiny little kei car - a Suzuki Cappuccino - earlier this year with one goal in mind; making it quicker than the current go-to entry-level sportscar, the Mazda MX-5. Has Mike accomplished his goal? With the help of Abbie Eaton, let's find out!
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[@Drivetribe]

What should we do with Yuki now? 🤔 Thanks to Car Vertical for sponsoring this video! Check if your car has ever been damaged or stolen with a 10% discount with CarVertical here: www.carvertical.com/gb/landing/v3?a=DriveTribe&b=1e4c9523&voucher=DriveTribe

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

well you named it "Yuki" which is Japanese for "snow" and usually a feminine name so how about a gender swap?

[@ncsnnicolas]

Engine swap with a better engine, new lightweight wheels, grippy tires and some bit of aero.

[@adamsmith8810]

The Cappuccino stared in a Legendary episode of the Anime Initial D. It would be fun to see Yuki in full on Downhill Racer/Drift Runner setup.

[@purapurapurans3938]

Get another priject kei car?

[@therealjamesmarchant]

I think that if you develop this further, you will dilute the purity of your concept. I would suggest selling it on, especially as I'm keen to see and hear the V10 MX5.

[@aerogfs]

Sell it to Hammond as a large sports car.

[@platano4924]

💀💀💀 dammm 😂

[@musoseven8218]

🤔🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Etaripamai47]

SAVAGE

[@LarsAgerbk]

underrated comment

[@archersanonymous3003]

Nah, he'd just crash it.

[@mikedrivetribe8314]

Chatting with Abbie afterwards, the tyres didn't end up being that bad, apparently on par with the Yokahamas on the 1.6! So all Yuki really needed was a slight suspension tweak and caramel digestives to take the 1.8. What a car.

[@JohnFromAccounting]

Quite exciting. Hopefully this motivates people to go out and work on their own Cappucinos.

[@matthewlok3020]

Yuki should do around 54.5 with those tweaks and decent tyres

[@peebking]

I have a same car with stock power and 195 yokohama AD09 and AR1 it is too much grip lol

[@WalterBurton]

Very cool. 🌲🌲🌲

[@elecktr1]

Dębica tyres are ok for daily driving. Its polish brand that belongs to Goodyear group right now. Passio mounted on this Suzuki are economy level, but way better than cheapest chinese ones.

[@wbgroup4754]

Those are Dębica tires from a Polish manufacturer that falls under the GoodYear group. Just an FYI for those curious

[@--Lam]

Also back in the 1970s their tires were used to set a non-stop drive record, remember? :) Then you could get a Stomil Rekord tires for your dinky eastern block car ;) (Dębica was split from Stomil (who still makes truck, airplane and whatnot tires) and sold to GoodYear) But yeah, now it's become a budget brand, they do make better stuff at Dębica (the city/the plant), but never under that name :)

[@mar33cki]

yeap, entry level tires for city cars, manage on dry, not really on wet ;)

[@TastingCars]

As a 1.8 NA owner i can tell for sure that the Cappuccino window is rolling up more than 2 seconds faster then an old miata one 😂

[@drewwagar]

You're not wrong! :)

[@RippinLyons]

Hahah I usually have to assist mine

[@battyflaps5410]

Abbie is a legend, great driver, great human, glad she recovered!

[@fingersTitan]

Abbie "Caramel Digestive" Eaton.

[@DiRF]

Agreed. I hadn't been keeping up with her progress; fantastic to see her slinging cars around tracks again!

[@groovytirma2409]

How do you know she's a "great human"?

[@Kiwi_Col]

@@groovytirma2409There's always one.

[@ASBO_LUTELY]

She broke her spine didn't she, amazing she's even walking really...

[@earlofsmeg]

Great seeing Abbie here. Glad she recovered. What a great little car. Definitely a keeper.

[@andrxito]

Keep this gem! I'd love to see what some lightweight wheels and decent tires would do, even cooler if you change to a lightweight battery and bucket seats, see how light you can go!

[@nunyabusiness896]

The batteries in these are already tiny and it would start to get hard to fit in the car if the seats were any different. Larger, stickier tires would make a huge difference, though, and no need for overrated "lightweight" wheels, any steelie would work, just put wider tires of a grippier compound. With the right tires, it would probably drop 5 seconds off of a course like this.

[@MsArchitectschannel]

@@nunyabusiness896 Steelies are 100% not worth it on a car like this. alloys are SO cheap nowadays you may aswell spend the extra £300 to get alloys, steelies would set you back like 30Kg of unsprung weight which is huge for a 700kg car! superlight alloys aren't worth it though, just get some chepo ones from somewhere reputable!

[@nunyabusiness896]

@@MsArchitectschannel The point is that even dirt cheap steelies of a larger size that could fit a larger, stickier tire would be a massive improvement. See the forest for the trees. JFC I hate the internet, you people never even try to get the point of anything. All you care about is your fking "gotcha" moments.

[@GoldenCroc]

​@@nunyabusiness896He probably meant a lighter battery of similar capacity, i.e one using some kind of lithium chemistry. LFP would do nicely.

[@GoldenCroc]

​​​​​​@@MsArchitectschannelSteelies are often lighter than alloys, and thats not a joke. Especially the cheapo alloys ones are often quite a bit heavier than steelies actually, so beware if its weight you are looking to cut, it might just be a step backwards when put on a scale! The alloys generally significantly lighter than steelies/cheapo alloys are specialised performance ones, but they tend to be expensive. Certainly not 300 quid for a set of new ones. I guess some second hand ones that are a bit beat up and have done some races maybe could be found for 300. As, as I said above, steelies arent really heavier than normal alloys, even with "race" forged alloys or magnesium, you wont save 30kg on rims for this kind of car. Any rims you can fit are just too small to be very heavy, its borderline if the original rims even are 30kg in weight in total to begin with, of course making it impossible to save 30kg. You have to get larger, heavier dimensions like 18s, 19s at the very least (more likely 20s or above if originals are ok-ish) to be able to save 30kg in all. Cheers mate.

[@josephfranzen9196]

Amazing to see Abbie on here! Last summer during my trip to Europe I met her at Brands Hatch and she was not only friendly and humble but wicked funny and gave me a number of tips to improve my driving. I’m more impressed meeting people like her than any celebrity.

[@coolintruddle]

This is the first time I've seen Abbie back behind the wheel! Awesome!

[@zenith-worldmkii]

Hi, I am an owner of Cappuccino in Japan for 27 years, and thanks so much for your excellent driving and impression. I know this car is very rare in UK, very limited number of Cappuccino were officially exported, and even in Japan this car is now in the premium trading prices. So Cappuccino in UK is one of the most valuable Japanese K car!

[@christiant5164]

You are totally right. I also have one of the very few sold Cappuccino here in Germany. I will never give it away and enjoy every time driving on the right side. So all the people ask themself : What is this for a tiny great car

[@sianwarwick633]

They were everywhere in London at one time, yeah I guess it was ages ago, mid 90s - 2000s. Pistachio or lighter mint green and a cream roof

[@marcingawe4279]

TELL EM TO BRING OUT THE CAPPUCCINO

[@chakowe]

I call her… cappuccino!

[@hoxtongood]

I think you should focus on v10 Miata, that project has been procrastinated for too long.

[@edutiburon]

I absolutely love this little build. With decent tires would be really impressive.

[@AdamJClarkson]

I think we need a practicality road test with Yuki. Pack a tent in there and take him camping up Scotland!

[@LostYogi]

I agree, before you sell this car need a road trip (preferably "against" 2 other cars. But first new tyres and a small suspension adjustment!

[@sianwarwick633]

I would hate to camp, in Scotland. Have a caravan set up

[@roboslug]

Best thing is seeing Abbie Eaton healed up and back on the track.

[@thomasrupesinghe]

Love the video but my only criticism is the music should be less prominent when you've got the lap footage with engine audio

[@VcArena]

Or at least play some eurobeat since that goes with racing

[@c63w204W]

@@VcArena works only when there's no engine and exhaust sounds

[@VcArena]

@@c63w204W initial d had exhaust sounds with the music going.

[@sianwarwick633]

Same thing on More Drivetribe BTS, behind the scenes. Ramming the music too much

[@klimenz]

Those tyres are Polish brand Debica. They're owned by Goodyear and manufacture their own brand as well as Goodyear, Dunlop, Fulda and few others. They're not bad although not track tyres.

[@deaks25]

Great to see Abbie back at 100% and behind the wheel of a car on track and a great finale for the little Suzuki.

[@CKwolf741]

Absolutely loved having Abbie drive these fabulous cars. Well done everyone who put their hard work into little Yuki. And Mike, what a great choice you made in the Cappuccino. I love that car to bits.

[@callumroper7251]

I'd give the laps one more go, just replace the tyres, upgrade the sway bars and alter the damping settings on the coilovers to see if you save any more time in Yuki. Other than that, nice to see its mission accomplished!

[@zwefanta3134]

Amazing appearance from Hammond on the sidemen KZbin channel! Loved it

[@lakid042]

As a(U.S.) V8 Miata and AZ-1 owner, utterly loved this video! Next comparison should be done on identical tires, IMHO. I’ll buy Yuki whenever it comes up for sale!

[@maleagerlemitee676]

Keep it, and keep going! They are great trackday cars. I had mine rebored to 698cc, forged pistons and had a bigger intercooler. Rays TE37 15inch wheels and decent rubber made it rapid....

[@proxcess4946]

The shots at 08:18, 08:29 and 08:42 are fantastic. Really give you a sense of speed.

[@ghomerhust]

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! abbie is back!! great to see her toodling around a track again!! my wife is totally ok for me finding a cappuccino at some point, she agrees they are adorable and look really fun to drive

[@LaurencePlays]

I'd be interested to see how much quicker the 1.8 would have been if you'd borrowed the hard top from the 1.6! Having the roof up definitely means a bit less drag, and I've heard that hard tops improve the stiffness a little bit.

[@raven_of_zoso455]

So happy to see Abbie back!

[@sweetcorn1968]

Great to see Abbie back and giving it the beans.

[@fydrautha]

Bigger turbo. More Boost. Uprated Suspension. Bigger wheels and wider tires- the list goes on. Yuki is such a cool car, please don't let it end here!

[@camarocharger8180]

Brilliant little car, love how u don't even need a full litre of displacement to have fun while driving. Also, the first thing I thought of while watching this video was Initial D, when Takumi raced downhill against the Cappuccino. 😅😄

[@Entrepid83]

The Cappuccino is also rear-wheel drive, instead of the usual FWD/AWD kei car offerings.

[@FrankV10]

I love Drivetribe simply because it’s all the random car content I never knew I needed

[@n8tn808]

Its so nice to see Abby and Mike working together!

[@cian599]

Always great to see Abbie

[@ClellBiggs]

Great to see Abbie again!

[@bmak24]

Great to see Abbie back!!!

[@mustafabeer1791]

Well done Abbie, really glad you are doing well now, legend!

[@adsyoffinch]

Great to see Abbie back doing what she does best in cars that properly suit her driving style! Love the progress you’ve made with Yuki too! It’s great to see these little Kei sports cars pitted against cars so much bigger than them, I’d love you to get a lil Honda Beat to go with Yuki too, he needs a playmate of his own size!

[@Anakwad]

So pumped to see Abby !

[@tigerclaw234]

Great to see Abbie is back

[@alexandrumarinescu1]

Things i would love to see: 1. Some proper tires on Yuki. 2. A new dyno. I think it should be around 90 to 95 bhp after fixing the rear brake issue. 3. Proper suspension setting with maybe some inputs from Abby 4. Another lap :D

[@eric_white]

Glad to see Abbie back on track!!

[@gnacgnacgnacgnac]

Organize some kind of montain pass experience, or even a battle against a AE86 ^^ Like a tiny road in the montain, where Yuki would be really in its element!

[@timw5709]

Great to see Abbi back ❤

[@MelvinLim]

this is the fairy tail ending some of us have been waiting for. great job on Yuki! such a wonderful series.

[@BADDWOLF1]

I’m so happy to see Abby doing better.

[@MarkMeadows90]

I wonder what it would've been like if this car had a turbo Hayabusa swap?

[@martinfahrni5677]

Frightening ❤

[@Ebil-One]

Easy answer there in something that light 8 second quarter mile lol

[@chakowe]

Absolutely terrifying

[@pearce05]

This was my first thought as he was wrapping up. Suzuki released the Hayabusa in '99, one year after Cappuccino production ended. I can't think of a more appropriate car for a Hayabusa swap. I'd love to see them extend this series with the goal of beating an S2000 and an FD RX-7.

[@ryukisai99]

Hayabusa swap is a no brainer on this car for sure :-)

[@rigel1632]

Great to see Abbie back and recovered.

[@aardarf]

Thanks Abbie, you're awesome!

[@CarsMeetsBikes]

As a 1.6 owner, nice! Congrats!

[@Dakiraun]

Haha - that was a very Hammond-esque victory dance at the end there. Cool to see the upgrades making such a tremendous difference. Would b every cool if Uki could go to a fan in the UK!

[@Frostfly]

MX5 videos from both DriveTide and Overdrive. Nice. (Abby needs to race Scott)

[@timhamilton5699]

Nice to see Abbie driving again! Let's see that v10 MX5!

[@petrolheadfrombr]

TorqueGT is amazing, this partnership with Drivetribe is spot on

[@Marc_Bedard]

great to see abbie back behind the wheel

[@ripvanwinkle2002]

very cool build!! now its time to make it into a rally car!

[@dubplatenate]

Welcome back Abbie! Happy to see you healthy. ♥

[@TheCommentator353]

I definitely support the idea to sell it and use funds for the V10 mx5 project. If that comes to fruition it would be such a special car. Would shut down so many meets

[@OldZean]

Yay for Abbie!

[@511dydy]

Its nice to see Abbie behind the wheel again

[@the_matchless]

Man this is the one I'd been waiting for... I mean I have been really very curious to find out really how much more power these restricted Kei cars can actually put out and now I know better... Thanks many thanks. Ps. I wish you'd try your hand at doing at least a similar kind of upgrade/mod to the Honda s660

[@Mountain-Man-3000]

Nice to see Abbie driving.

[@paulv5733]

I was on a track day years ago and one of these showed up with a bike engine fitted, it was very fast and looked like incredible fun.

[@althejazzman]

That 1.8 is 3x the displacement of the 0.6. I know that's basic maths, but it makes you appreciate the impressive performance.

[@GrayNeko]

Congratulations to Yuki and welcome back to Ms Eaton! Great video!

[@bondjamesbond9041]

I have a Cappuccino and love it. They are very under rated and priced.

[@pixieh.9302]

As someone in the middle of restoring a 92 cappuccino- this is SO AWESOME to see. Little Cappi can be fast!

[@hbhhh12]

real i’m 18 and it’s my first car!! it’s so cool

[@futte2303]

Mike.!!! Tires are the most important thing in improving lap times. If the car can't hold onto the track, it doesn't matter how much power it has or how great your suspension is.

[@WalterBurton]

YAY! ABBIE! 🥳🥳🥳

[@oliestarkyshitposting5647]

Man id love to see modern kei cars in europe… Such a happy little gocarts

[@KingSvenDeluxe]

Just had to double check it did indeed say what I thought it said on the tyres. Cheeky work, but I love it (pun intended).

[@fedorsamokhin4495]

Do a trackday time attack road show: go set the times in about 10 different tracks like Donnington, Silverstone, Knockhill, Spa, Nurburgring and share the results so everybody can see what Yuki is capable of vs others.

[@cirian75]

Abby is BACK !!!

[@Pieteros21]

wheel spacers , semi slick tires and then try :D

[@stuartkseels]

Great to see Abbie back. Take Yuki RACING!

[@Logan-ld5et]

Heck yes Abbie

[@joelbraithwaite1390]

Arctic cat used the suzuki 660 turbo motor in a snowmobile, the 2006 T660 ST, rated at 120hp stock. And can easily be turned up to 150hp!!

[@angusmf]

The slow window roll-up was a little bit hilarious

[@HansDelbruck53]

I've never even seen a Cappuccino in the US, but I've driven several iterations of the Miata and loved every one.

[@gunnarelisigurjonsson2587]

Abby ❤ What a driver

[@54mgtf22]

Hi Mike. Love your work 👍

[@Ray_of_Forks]

Tyres are from polish maker Dębica. They're decent, although rather budget oriented option and certainly nothing high performance enough to give Yuki an edge obver Miatas.

[@CuttingEdgeRetro]

If you stand far enough back at the right angles these Cappuccinos look almost like 90's Viper GTS. It would looks awesome with some white racing stripes and a big T-wing on the back.

[@AcidRiotGaming]

Here from the Sidemen, didn't know Richard Hammond had a channel!

[@Kim_Anderzzon]

That Suzuki is such a cool little car!

[@StaceJohnson]

Abbie! Yay! 🎉

[@ElJesucristorini]

im glad of the polish accent in that video (the tires)

[@andrewwhite1305]

Sincerely, I love Abbie.

[@supergoat94]

All that work to tie a stock Miata. Well done! Guess I won't be selling my Miata today. :)

[@drewwagar]

Great video. That red Mx-5 definitely wasn't on standard suspension!

[@S-Ltd1000]

Nope, I reckon standard shocks with eibach springs or similar.

[@NeXTAdventures82]

That was cool! How about an original BMW Z3 with the 4-cylinder and manual combination? 😅

[@mr.niceguy22]

Cool jacket, want one

[@jujitsujew23]

Love kei cars

[@douglasfaichnie6931]

Love Yuki. Love Cappas! Well done all round 👌

[@Zmit]

Go full JDM street race mod on it. Wide low profile tires on racing rims, lowered ride height, body kit, tweek the turbo - the works. Make it the worlds smallest super/hyper car.

[@pjccwest]

Class job. I'd be interested to see ths power figure without the brakes!

[@khadajhin5130]

Those are Polish tires from a company called Dębica in Dębica, Podkarpacie voivodeship.

[@mfrid1989]

The hardtop on the 1.6 will help mazzzively with the handling and the import mx5 where a lot quicker than the UK models.

[@leebridge9187]

I think you should do a tour to stelvio pass. Take lots of cars below 1000cc like a Smart Brabus, Honda Beat, AutoZam, Daihatsu Copen.

[@TommyDrift]

The tires you have kept on the Cappucino are Polish budget city tires (with all season tread pattern): Dębica Passio. The worst tires imaginable for sport, used only by seniors in their slow commute cars because they are cheap and available in small sizes. Please change them to anything sport-ish and do a timed lap again, you will gain 2-3 seconds easily!