Suzuki Suzulight: how Suzuki learned to build cars

Suzulight was the name Suzuki used for its kei cars from 1955 to 1969, when the company had made only motorcycles. The 1955 SF was only Japan’s second front-wheel-drive car, and the Suzulight Carry trucks began the Carry line that is still sold today.

Suzuki Suzulight at a glance

History of the Suzuki Suzulight

Suzuki’s first car

The Suzulight SF went on sale in October 1955, three months after type approval on 20 July. Work had begun in January 1954, with front-engine rear-drive and rear-engined layouts also considered, but the production car followed the Lloyd 400, chosen after Suzuki looked at the Citroen 2CV and Renault 4CV too. Like the Lloyd it had a transversely mounted, front-wheel-drive layout and a two-cylinder two-stroke engine, a narrow-bored copy using the Lloyd’s 66 mm stroke; a 58.9 mm bore gave 359.66 cc and kept the car inside Japanese kei rules. The design was by the founder, Michio Suzuki, and the SF had double-wishbone coil-spring suspension and rack-and-pinion steering, far ahead of its time, mounted on a central tube chassis like the Lloyd’s.

Three bodies at launch

At launch three bodies were listed: the SS sedan at ¥420,000, the SL light van at ¥390,000 and the SP pickup at ¥370,000, with a roomier SD delivery van added in November 1955. Only 43 SS sedans were built, and the pickup, the first bonneted kei truck, managed 30 to 50. In April 1956 the bore grew to 59 mm for 360.88 cc and 18 PS, and because the modern suspension could not cope with Japanese roads of the time it was replaced by leaf springs all round; the SS sedan was withdrawn. Smaller 14-inch tyres became available in November and made the car look more harmonious. Production started at three or four cars a month and reached about 30 by February 1956.

One model, then the TL

In January 1958, after sluggish sales, the range was cut to a single model. A 15 percent tax on passenger cars had made the SS hard to sell and the pickup’s payload limited its appeal, so the SL light van remained; owners could fit a rear seat to avoid the tax, and with two plus an auxiliary seat and a 200 kg payload it was practical. Production ended in July 1959, the year the new Suzulight TL light van arrived with a split folding rear seat and a side-opening tailgate, 12-inch wheels, a glassy design by Tadaaki Mizuki and 21 PS. The TL could carry a cubic metre or 300 kg, half as much again as the SL. It was the most expensive car in its class, and its equipment list ran to such luxuries as synchronised wipers, a lever-operated indicator switch, a fuel gauge and an electric starter.

Design and features

• First Suzuki car: the company’s move from motorcycles into automobiles.
• Advanced chassis: front-wheel drive, double wishbones and rack-and-pinion steering in 1955.
• Kei-sized: a 359 cc two-stroke that fitted Japanese light-car rules.
• The Carry begins: Suzulight Carry trucks were the first to wear the Carry name.

Suzuki Suzulight versions

• Suzulight SS (1955): the sedan, only 43 built.
• Suzulight SL (1955): the light van that outlived the rest of the SF range.
• Suzulight SP (1955): the first bonneted kei pickup.
• Suzulight TL (1959): the roomier follow-up van.
• Suzulight Carry: the light trucks that began the Carry line.

The Suzulight was the ancestor of the Fronte and its Carry trucks began the line that continues in the Suzuki Carry. More Suzukis are in the Suzuki collection.

Video: 1961 SUZUKI Suzulight Carry スズライト 元祖キャリー

Video by Cars and… on YouTube.

Sources

• Suzuki Suzulight, English Wikipedia: history, engineering, models, prices