Suzuki Jimny History
A tiny, go-anywhere 4x4 produced since 1970 — four generations of the same pure-off-road formula in an ever-smaller package.
Photo: “Suzuki lj80.jpg” by Andreanrama / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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The Jimny traces its roots to Hope Motor Company's LJ10 light jeep of 1970; Suzuki acquired the project and launched it under its own badge that same year. The original LJ-series cars were bare-bones, air-cooled two-stroke 4x4s built purely for off-road utility.
A second generation (SJ30/SJ410/SJ413) followed from 1981, growing slightly and swapping to water-cooled four-cylinder power, while remaining ladder-frame and body-on-frame. This generation was produced in Spain until 2004 and in India until 2019.
The third generation (JB23/JB33/JB43) arrived in 1998 and ran an astonishing 20 years with only cosmetic updates — testament to how well the formula worked. The fourth generation debuted in 2018 with a retro-squared design that caused a global buying frenzy, and is not sold in the United States due to import regulations on its small size.
Generations
First generation (LJ-series) · LJ10 / LJ20 / LJ50 / LJ80
Photo: “Suzuki lj80.jpg” by Andreanrama / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Air-cooled two-stroke origins evolving toward water-cooled fours; primitive but effective mini 4x4.
1970 Photo: “1970 Suzuki Jimny.jpg” by TTTNIS / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0
1976 Photo: “1976 Suzuki LJ50 4WD (15523143152).jpg” by Sicnag / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Second generation (SJ-series) · SJ30 / SJ410 / SJ413
Water-cooled four-cylinders; sold in over 100 countries, produced in Spain until 2004 and India until 2019.
Third generation · JB23 / JB33 / JB43
A 20-year production run with minimal changes — ladder-frame, live rear axle, cult following worldwide.
Fourth generation · JB64 / JB74
Retro-boxy redesign that caused global demand surges; not offered in the United States.
Body styles
- 2-door SUV
- 3-door SUV
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