I believe the Suzuki drivetrain he's referring to is the 993cc version from the Geo Metro (& various clones). Could he go smaller? Yes, but that's the smallest most commonly available automobile engine in North America. (Though there's always the motorcycle fleet to pick through for smaller engines...)
I did a quick search for "Shrike", and this is what I found:
Norton "Shrike"
Quote:
My goal for the Shrike was to achieve a unique balance of competing factors, suitable to my own tastes with almost no thought of mass market appeal.
[...]
Here is a rough listing of my priorities, with 5 being most important, 0 least: Crash Safety: 5. Accident Avoidance: 4. Lateral acceleration: 5. Acceleration: 3. Cost to Produce: 4. Individuality: 5. Convenience: 1. Appearance: 1. Operating Economy: 2. Ease of Manufacture: 4. Simplicity: 4. Passenger(s) Accommodation: 1.
Source: http://pages.zoom.co.uk/elvis/shrike.html
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