When the new Suzuki Jimny was revealed in June 2018, many of our readers commented that it looked something like a baby Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Well, the folks over at Japan’s Liberty Walk clearly agree, and have confirmed plans to offer a body kit making the Japanese SUV look even more like the Stuttgart-based brand’s off-roader.
The single (surprisingly poorly rendered) image posted to Liberty Walk’s Instagram account shows the Jimny wearing a body kit clearly inspired by the G-Class, with the aftermarket firm confirming that it will be released before the end of 2018.
In the rendering, the Jimny features a cheeky side-exit exhaust, larger alloy wheels and carbon-fibre add-ons for the bonnet, roof (with added lighting), rear spoiler and wheelarches. It also gains a G-Class-like front facia and LED daytime running lights.
Expected to launch in South Africa in November 2018, the new Jimny draws its power from a “newly developed” 1,5-litre petrol engine. The naturally aspirated four-cylinder K15B engine makes 75 kW and 130 N.m (up from the 63 kW and 110 N.m offered by the outgoing 1,3-litre), and will again be offered with the choice of a five-speed manual gearbox or four-speed automatic.
The new three-door, four-seater Jimny measures 3 480 mm long (or 3 645 mm if you include the spare wheel cover), with an unchanged wheelbase of 2 250 mm. Ground clearance comes in at 210 mm, while the latest-generation model boasts an approach angle of 37 degrees, a breakover angle of 28 degrees and a departure angle of 49 degrees.
Likely to run on 15-inch wheels shod in 195/80 R15 rubber, the little Jimny is underpinned by a “newly developed” ladder frame chassis with a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, part-time four-wheel drive (with low range transfer gear) and three-link rigid axle suspension. “Brake LSD (limited slip-differential) traction control” is also included.
