We continued to be tickled by the fact that Suzuki is releasing a lot of archival footage showing the evolution of their products. From animated history lessons to old ads, the company seems to be digging deep into the vault for this stuff and putting it online. The latest is a series of clips of the original Jimny, a kei-class SUV that, despite its size, was billed as a go-anywhere off-roader. And man, they sure beat these things like a rented mule.
There’s all sorts of air catching, river fording, and aiming directly for large rocks at speed. The truck can take some serious abuse, but when the whole package weighs about 1,300 pounds maybe crashing down onto the Earth’s mantle isn’t as damaging as it would be with a heavier vehicle. Can’t say the same for the driver’s spine, though.
As a bonus, here’s another video of third-generation Jimny footage. We’d probably rather have one of these, to be honest, as still boast ladder-chassis and have low-range transfer cases, but are just a bit more protected from the elements.
I think many of the plastic model box artist’s have seen these ads !!
Saw a number of those in Taiwan in the previous decade. Nice looking little piece; didn’t know that it seems to be pretty decent off-road…
I own a non modified original 1981 Suzuki Jimmy. A fun vehicle always babied and super clean no rust. Should be in a Japanese mueseem simewhere but lots of fun to drive.