Despite what you’d think looking at the cars around TLCB Towers, you really don’t need a Range Rover to drive to the gym. Which is why we love the Suzuki Jimny. Small, light, and vastly more capable off-road than SUVs with five times the power, it’s the antidote to the AMG G-63, BMW XM, and every new Defender that will never ever get a wheel dirty. Yama Jason is the builder behind this one, outfitting his Jimny with a host of off-road goodies and picturing it where you’ll never see an Audi Q7. Join him away from the pavement via the link above.
This is one of those cars that is probably familiar to all of us, and yet may also not be at all. This is a Geo Tracker, built by 2GodBDGlory, and in fact it’s his Geo Tracker, being a Technic recreation of his real-world vehicle.
But it’s also a Suzuki Vitara (the name we know it as here in TLCB’s home nation), a Suzuki Sidekick, a Chevrolet Tracker, a GMC Tracker, an Asuna Sunrunner (what?!), and a Pontiac Sunrunner.
Which is confusing. Thus, because the Tracker/Vitara/Sunrunner is a Suzuki designed, engineered and produced product, with General Motors simply rebadging it and pretending it was theirs, we’re going to call it a Vitara from here on, and 2GodBDGlory’s is excellent.
Powered by two L Motors with Servo steering, and featuring all-wheel-drive, a remotely-operated high/low range gearbox, working suspension, LED head and tail lights, and a removable roof, 2GodBDGlory’s Technic Vitara is as capable off-road as his real one, and there’s much more of the model to see of both at Eurobricks and Bricksafe.
Whatever you know the Suzuki Vitara as where you’re from, click the links above to be impressed.
Japan’s wonderful ‘Kei car’ class, which restricts size, weight, and power in favour of tax breaks, is one of our very favourite things in the automotive world. The antidote to the SUV arms-race, it includes vehicles of almost every type, from one-box people movers to off-roaders, fire engines, and tipper trucks. Back in the early ’90s, it even included a supercar. Kinda…
This is the Autozam AZ-1 / Suzuki Cara, a gull-wing doored, mid-engined, turbo-charged coupe built in collaboration between Mazda and Suzuki, that took all of the ingredients of a ’90s supercar, and miniaturised them.
With a government-mandated 67bhp, the speed was miniaturised too, but then would you really want to do 180mph in something the size of a large shoe?
This one is even smaller, being a Speed Champions recreation of the mad ’90s original, it comes from Ilya M, there are free building instructions available, and there’s more to see on Flickr. Shrink a supercar via the link above!
If you’re of a certain age (like this TLCB Writer) then you will absolutely know this car.
Playstation’s Gran Turismo 2 ruled racing games in the late ’90s. Populated with all manner of awesome mostly-Japanese cars from the county’s car-building zenith, pixilated racing glory could be yours at the wheel of an Impreza, a Skyline GT-R, a Supra, an RX-7, or a multitude of other machinery.
Of course you had to work your way up through a soup of crappy Suzukis and Daihatsus to get to the good stuff, but even they had some late ’90s monsters available in digital form. OK, Daihatsu didn’t, but Suzuki did; the mighty Escudo Pikes Peak.
Based on the humble Vitara (although it resembled the Vitara about as much as this TLCB Writer does Ryan Reynolds), the Escudo Pikes Peak produced almost 1,000bhp from a mid-mounted bi-turbo V6, and could do o-60mph in 3.5 seconds. On gravel.
Built for one race (the Pikes Peak…), the Suzuki Escudo won the 1995 event in the hands Nobuhiro Tajima, before he returned in the mid-’00s to win a further six consecutive Pike Peaks with Suzuki, by which time the Escudo was already a legend with an entire generation of Playstation owners.
This instantly recognisable Speed Champions homage to the iconic Gran Turismo 2 star and Suzuki outlier comes from Sergio Batista, with custom decals and bespoke wheels maximising the realism (far beyond what 1999 gaming graphics could manage…).
Building instructions are available and you can re-live your youth at Sergio’s photostream via the link above.
Speaking of ‘coolest vehicles on the planet‘ following today’s other post, here’s another. The Suzuki Jimny is one of the hottest vehicles to own right now, helped no doubt by the EU’s ‘CAFE’ CO2 regulations taking it off sale after just two years, during which time it had a sizeable waiting list. But buying a hateful G63 AMG is fine… go figure.
Anyway, these two polar bears have managed to get themselves a Suzuki Jimny (whose survival was surely the point of that non-sensical, counter-productive EU legislation), applying a few well-chosen mods to equip them with everything they need for a weekend camping.
There’s a folding table, cooler, camping stove, and much more besides to ensure a successful polar-bear-father-son camping trip.
Flickr’s LEGO 7 is the builder behind this wonderfully whimsical, delightfully detailed, and beautifully built creation, and there’s more to see of his superbly presented bear-based camping scene at his ‘Camping Time’ album. Click the link above to join the fun.
A 1990s Asian-American econobox is the definition of mundane motoring. There was the Toyota Corolla rebadged as the Geo Prizm (which was somehow even more boring), the miserable Daewoo Matiz rebadged as a Chevrolet, and this; the Suzuki Vitara rebadged as the Geo Tracker.
However, he’s also lost a few by building his Tracker in yellow and putting a surfboard in the back. Thomas, Thomas… white with a brown box in the back would have been so much more mundane.
Despite this monotonous faux-pas it’s still a worthy entry and you can check out more of Thomas’ Tracker on at his photostream via the link, plus you can read the contest details and see the prizes on offer for the most boring builds by clicking here.
The Suzuki Wagon R was roundly mocked when it arrived in TLCB’s home nation in the late 1990s. These days though it’s, well… still roundly mocked, but we think Japan’s kei cars deserve to be taken seriously outside of the country that created them.
After all, as the population rises and urban dwelling intensifies homes have become smaller. Appliances have become smaller. Even chocolate bars have become smaller. So why not cars?
Oh yeh, because size somehow signifies social importance, and f*** the planet. Sigh.
This is the Wagon R’s successor, the Suzuki Every Wagon, and whilst the name is undoubtedly silly, we’d happily take one of these over a BMW X7. We could probably take three of them for a BMW X7 and still have room left over to be honest…
This one comes from previous bloggee Ralph Savelsberg, and there’s more to see of his kei creation at his photostream. Click the link above and think small. It’s all you really need anyway.
Some of our least favourite cars are SUVs. The Hummer. The Cadillac Escalade. The Chevrolet Suburban. And, despite its depth of engineering and wonderfully utilitarian roots, the latest Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon can probably be added to the list, seeing as these days it seems to be driven entirely by insufferable douchebags. There is a shining exception though, a leafy oasis in a brash and ostentatious desert that seems to be expanding every year. The utterly wonderful Suzuki Jimny.
Recently updated for the first time in almost twenty years the new Jimny is an excellent looking thing, far more charming than its predecessor anyway, yet just as brilliant off-road. A 1.5 litre engine drives all four wheels via locking differentials and tiny overhangs make the humble Suzuki a veritable mountain goat when the going gets rough.
This excellent Technic homage to probably our favourite recent off-roader comes from damianple of Brickshelf, and it’s every bit as marvellous as the real thing. With remote control all-wheel-drive and steering, suspension on all wheels, LED lights, and opening doors and hood we think it would make a most excellent official Technic set. Take a look via the link above and see if you agree, where damianple’s Suzuki Jimny Brickshelf album includes photos on-location off-road plus some neat chassis imagery too.
This is the new Suzuki Jimny, and we absolutely LOVE it. Like the new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon, Suzuki have taken a retro approach to the styling of their new car (to much success), but unlike the new G-Wagon – which will be bought by rappers, wannabe rappers, and hedge-fund managers – the Jimny will be bought by people who will actually take it off-road. A lot.
With a proper four-wheel-drive system, body-on-frame construction, and tiny overhangs the little Jimny will trounce any SUV off-road, despite having just 1500cc and only 100bhp (which is actually a fair bit more than the previous one). The result is a car which, in TLCB’s home nation at least, already has sizeable waiting list. But then it has been twenty years since Suzuki last redesigned it, which is rather a long wait.
Don’t worry though, if you’d like to get your hands on the new Jimny we have an alternative! A 1:10 scale alternative…
This wonderful little Technic replica of the new Jimny comes from filsawgood, and not only has he recreated the dinky Suzuki 4×4 superbly, he’s made instructions available too!
Underneath the delightful exterior is a remotely controlled all-wheel-drive system complete with solid-axle suspension and powered by a third-party BuWizz bluetooth brick, which enables the model to be controlled via mobile phone and delivers up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions battery. Two L motors drive all four wheels whilst a Servo powers the steering, plus there are LED lights, opening doors, hood and tailgate.
There are loads more images of filsawgood’s remote control Suzuki Jimny available to view on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, where you can also find a video demonstrating the model’s features and a link to building instructions so that you can build your own!
The most optimistically named vehicle since the Mitsubishi Carisma, the Suzuki Super Carry could not carry many things. Unless they were really small. But that meant it could get into really small spaces. Not as small as this one can though.
Built by TLCB regular Senator Chinchilla this miniature recreation of a miniature van can be neatly parked on your desk. Complete with working steering, an opening rear hatch and – for really big loads, like pencil sharpeners and erasers – a clever sliding side door too. See what you can fit in via the link above.
There’s just time to squeeze in one more for 2015! This a) allows us to make a ‘Your Mom’ joke, and b) segways neatly into the build itself, a Suzuki Super Carry*-esque pick-up, with working lights, two Large Power Functions motors for drive, a Servo for steering and a Power Functions IR receiver for remote control.
Previous bloggee Chade is the builder, and there’s more to see on either MOCpages or Eurobricks, including a video of the pick-up in action.
*Probably the most optimistically named vehicle of all time.
We’ve publicised quite a few similar Technic off-roaders this week, but it’s what you lot are making! This Suzuki Samurai-esque remote control 4×4 by Damian Plesniak was discovered on Brickshelf. You can see all the images after the jump.
As regular readers of TLCB will know, we’re not a fan of a particular American ‘SUV’. But we are fans of SUVs that do it right, and the tiny Suzuki Samurai is one such vehicle.
Powered by a dinky 1300cc engine the little Suzuki is not going to win any tug-of-war competitions. Or drag races. Or towing challenges. But what it will do is climb up a trail that a will leave a Hummer far below looking very fat and just a bit ridiculous*.
TLCB favourite piterx‘s fantastic Technic recreation of the little Japanese off-roader is packed full of Power Functions goodness to ensure it can do the same to plenty of overweight Lego Truck Trial creations. Inside are two L motors, a servo for steering, and all-wheel-drive with live axel suspension.
Best of all piterx has created his Samurai from the dark blue parts (and the off-road components) found in LEGO’s 41999 RC Crawler set, of which many examples are sitting unopened in the lofts of speculators. For that, we salute you piterx – you’re welcome here any time!
You can see all the details of piterx’s Technic Suzuki Samurai, including the all-important chassis images, via the Eurobricks forum; click the second link in this post to join the discussion.
