Suzuki Celebrates 40 Years of AWD with Limited Edition Models

This year, the Japanese company is celebrating 40 years since it first introduced four-wheel drive on one of its vehicles. To celebrate the landmark event, the company has released four limited edition versions of its cars.

First among them is the Suzuki Jimny Limited Edition, that is available with the same 1.0-liter petrol engine and 1.5-liter DDIS as before. The Limited Edition is distinguished by the chrome details, the ‘40 years’ logo on the back, chrome-plated protection bars and black paint, as well as some other small exterior features. Only 200 units are planned for production.

At the same time, Suzuki has also introduced versions of the anniversary Grand Vitara, SX4 and Swift AWD models. The Anniversary Grand Vitara is available with a 1.6-liter petrol engine and a 1.9-liter DDIS diesel, the SX4 with a 1.6-liter petrol and a 2.0-liter one, while the Swift DDIS only has a 1.2-liter petrol version.

Anniversary Version are recognizable by the anniversary logo and will enjoy 4 years of free roadside assistance and 2 vouchers included in the purchase price. There will only be 200 of each model available.

The history of Suzuki's four-wheel-drive cars goes way back to 1968, when Suzuki bought former Japanese automaker Hope Motor Company, which had produced fifteen small off-road vehicles called the HopeStar ON360. The year 1970 saw Suzuki build its first "real" Suzuki 4x4. Called the LJ10, it had an air cooled, 359 cc, two-stroke engine. 1972 saw the introduction of the LJ20, when the cooling system was changed from air cooling to water cooling due to newly enacted emission regulations, and the engine gained 3 hp.