Suzulight (SS). 1955–6 (prod. 43). 2-door sedan. F/F, 360 cm³ (I2 2-str.). Revolutionary for its time, and Japan’s first front-wheel-drive, front-engined passenger car, modelled after the Lloyd LP400, with a narrow-bored copy of that car’s engine, presumably to meet Japan’s MITI requirements for the kei class when it laid out its specifications for a people’s car. First time a two-stroke engine was mounted in a four-wheeled car in Japan. Double-wishbone coil-sprung suspension front and rear—advanced for its time but unsuited to rough Japanese roads of the era. SF was the series, which included two vans and a pick-up truck; SS denoted the sedan, of which only 43 were made; there was a greater need for commercial vehicles at the time, and these received the improvements, and a larger engine, the following year. The sedan was deleted in April 1956, and Suzuki did not return to the sector till 1962.

Manufacturing location: Japan

Marque: Suzulight | Successor: Suzuki Fronte (TLA)