Founded in 1994 in West Sussex, British company Tim Dutton Amphibious Cars can trace its roots back to Dutton Cars in 1970. Now that the history lesson is over, did you know these guys offer a Suzuki Jimny conversion kit unlike any other?
We know the little mountain goat with Mercedes-AMG G 63 body kits from DAMD in Japan. Over in New Zealand, you can even get the mini SUV in the guise of a pickup truck. But an amphibious Jimny is as wild as Jimnys will ever get.
Presented in great detail by Carfection in an 11-minute video review on YouTube, the Dutton Surf is not based on the current-gen Jimny. Available as a conversion kit or as a ready-to-be-driven amphibious vehicle, this oddity here uses mechanical parts from the mid-2005 to 2018 Jimny in European spec.
The original body shell is gone, replaced by a lot of plastic and stainless-steel because both are resistant to corrosion. Switching from four-wheel-drive to operating the jet appears to be easy at first glance but it does take some practice to get the hang of it. Pushing the clutch pedal while engaging jet drive is the first thing you need to do, then you rotate a knob on the center console that morphs the Dutton Surf into the quirkiest boat you’ll see today.
On water, the steering wheel steers the amphibious SUV but bear in mind that pushing the brake pedal won’t stop the British screwball. Although it may look flimsy, remember that company founder Tim Dutton has proven the Surf by crossing the English Channel to France and back to Britain not once but twice!
In terms of pricing, the kit starts at 11,690 pounds sterling before options such as the soft top, side windows, and a fishing rod holder. The turnkey option is ten grand more at 21,690 pounds sterling including the donor vehicle. To put those sums into perspective, a brand-spanking-new Jimny from the dealer retails at £19,249.
On an ending note, have you heard the Jimny is available in “very limited numbers” in the EU this year? Come 2021, the mini SUV could be modified in order to be sold as an N1 commercial vehicle. The reason for this change is the European Union’s emissions target of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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