Six-wheeled SUVs are all the rage in this day and age, with Hennessey leading the pack. But 6x6 conversions of the F-150 Raptor and Silverado 1500 aren’t exactly cheap, which gets us to the Jimny.
What Suzuki created with the Jimny is the cheapest means of enjoying superlative off-road performance. The little mountain goat is in a league of its own despite the small displacement of the engine, but even so, the Jimny can hold its own in terrain where you’d normally venture with either a G-Class or Defender.
Given these circumstances, can you imagine Suzuki giving three axles to the Jimny and a cargo bed? Now that would be an enticing prospect, explored by SRK Designs through the magic of Photoshop. The digital tuning project includes fender flares, steel bumpers, a sports bar, and over-the-top roof rails with an integrated roof rack.
A winch integrated into the front bumper, LED fog lights, and all-terrain tires wrapped around small-diameter wheels complete the makeover, which should be turned real by the aftermarket at some point in the future. But there’s a problem with it, and that would be the engine.
In the fourth generation, the 1,462-cc K15B has 101 PS (100 horsepower) and 130 Nm (96 pound-feet) to offer, sending the suck-squeeze-bang-blow either to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The additional weight brought by the 6x6 conversion would make the 1.5-liter motor obsolete, let alone the gearing of either transmission option.
The limited room in the engine bay makes it hard to swap the K15B for something else, let alone the longitudinal configuration that makes it impossible to shoehorn the 1.5-liter EcoBoost from the Ford Fiesta ST in there. Given these circumstances, let’s hope the aftermarket will come up with a turbocharging kit for the K15B at some point in the nearest of futures.
Over in Germany, the cheapest Jimny starts at 17,915 euros. If someone could deliver the 6x6 conversion at 50,000 euros or thereabouts including the donor vehicle, we’re certain that people would queue up to grab a piece of the action. Except for North America, which Suzuki abandoned towards the end of 2012 over poor sales and an ever poorer dealership network.
Given these circumstances, can you imagine Suzuki giving three axles to the Jimny and a cargo bed? Now that would be an enticing prospect, explored by SRK Designs through the magic of Photoshop. The digital tuning project includes fender flares, steel bumpers, a sports bar, and over-the-top roof rails with an integrated roof rack.
A winch integrated into the front bumper, LED fog lights, and all-terrain tires wrapped around small-diameter wheels complete the makeover, which should be turned real by the aftermarket at some point in the future. But there’s a problem with it, and that would be the engine.
In the fourth generation, the 1,462-cc K15B has 101 PS (100 horsepower) and 130 Nm (96 pound-feet) to offer, sending the suck-squeeze-bang-blow either to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The additional weight brought by the 6x6 conversion would make the 1.5-liter motor obsolete, let alone the gearing of either transmission option.
The limited room in the engine bay makes it hard to swap the K15B for something else, let alone the longitudinal configuration that makes it impossible to shoehorn the 1.5-liter EcoBoost from the Ford Fiesta ST in there. Given these circumstances, let’s hope the aftermarket will come up with a turbocharging kit for the K15B at some point in the nearest of futures.
Over in Germany, the cheapest Jimny starts at 17,915 euros. If someone could deliver the 6x6 conversion at 50,000 euros or thereabouts including the donor vehicle, we’re certain that people would queue up to grab a piece of the action. Except for North America, which Suzuki abandoned towards the end of 2012 over poor sales and an ever poorer dealership network.