The fourth generation of the mighty but tiny Suzuki Jimny got off to a great start in 2018, but its meteoric ascent was cut short at the end of last year. That's when it was removed from Suzuki’s European lineup due to its high CO2 emissions and tightening EU emissions standards.
That said, the latest Jimny is back in 2021, only this time as a commercial vehicle with only two passenger seats and a partition separating luggage space from the front seats, which makes it fit to less stringent emissions limits.
Suzuki didn’t do much to the model apart from removing the backseat and adding the extra partition, though. As a result, the Jimny commercial vehicle is not exactly the most efficient vehicle to haul stuff around because of its lilliputian size.
That is where a mysterious pre-production prototype of the latest Jimny comes in, with spy photographers spotting a fully camouflaged model with a seriously elongated wheelbase.
While at first, we thought this could be a mule for a 5-door version, it looks like the model’s doors are the same size as the ones on the standard model, and there appear to be no seats in the rear, just like the commercial version.
In other words, we are pretty sure that the Jimny LWB prototype is actually a mule for either a pickup version of the model or simply an upcoming commercial body with even more room in the back.
As a point of reference, a standard pallet size in Europe is 1000x1200 mm (39.37×47.24 in), which would fit much better in a slightly longer Jimny.
Oddly enough, Suzuki itself created a Jimny pickup conversion for the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon, but that was only a concept. Several aftermarket companies developed their own versions of a Jimny mini flatbed in Europe and even New Zealand.
None of those aftermarket solutions are better than what a longer-wheelbase Jimny Pickup would provide regarding hauling space, so we’re anxious to see how the conundrum regarding this prototype evolves.
Suzuki didn’t do much to the model apart from removing the backseat and adding the extra partition, though. As a result, the Jimny commercial vehicle is not exactly the most efficient vehicle to haul stuff around because of its lilliputian size.
That is where a mysterious pre-production prototype of the latest Jimny comes in, with spy photographers spotting a fully camouflaged model with a seriously elongated wheelbase.
While at first, we thought this could be a mule for a 5-door version, it looks like the model’s doors are the same size as the ones on the standard model, and there appear to be no seats in the rear, just like the commercial version.
In other words, we are pretty sure that the Jimny LWB prototype is actually a mule for either a pickup version of the model or simply an upcoming commercial body with even more room in the back.
As a point of reference, a standard pallet size in Europe is 1000x1200 mm (39.37×47.24 in), which would fit much better in a slightly longer Jimny.
Oddly enough, Suzuki itself created a Jimny pickup conversion for the 2019 Tokyo Auto Salon, but that was only a concept. Several aftermarket companies developed their own versions of a Jimny mini flatbed in Europe and even New Zealand.
None of those aftermarket solutions are better than what a longer-wheelbase Jimny Pickup would provide regarding hauling space, so we’re anxious to see how the conundrum regarding this prototype evolves.