Suzuki is celebrating 55 years since it introduced its first model, the LJ10, with Allgrip four-wheel drive technology.
The 1970 LJ10 was developed as a lightweight off-road vehicle and went on sale in March of that year. It was also Japan’s first mass produced domestic mini-car 4×4.
An LJ20 model followed in 1972 with a water-cooled engine in place of the LJ10’s air-cooled motor.
For 1981, Suzuki introduced a full model change for its Jimny range, by which the LJ series cars were known. The new SJ line-up used a 1.3-litre engine and went on to sell 1,693,000 units, more than six times as many as the LJ with its sales total of 243,000.
For 1998, Suzuki introduced the third generation of Jimny that brought part-time four-wheel drive to the mechanical mix. This model lasted 20 years and reached sales of 918,000 in all.
When the fourth generation Jimny arrived in 2018, it came with Allgrip Pro. Along with the other Jimny generations, the model has now racked up more than 3 million sale globally.
Other Suzuki models to use Allgrip technology include the X-90, Vitara, SX4, Kizashi, S-Cross, Ignis, and Swift.
