The Vauxhall Rascal was the British-badged version of the Suzuki Carry, the Japanese kei truck and microvan. Vauxhall sold it in Britain in the 1990s as a small, cheap commercial vehicle below the Astramax and Combo.
Vauxhall Rascal at a glance
| Maker | Vauxhall (Suzuki Carry in Japan) |
|---|---|
| Base vehicle | Suzuki Carry |
| Class | kei truck and microvan |
| Bodies | pickup and van |
| Layout | rear-wheel drive |
| Cab | cab-over with a short bonnet in early versions |
| Sold as | Vauxhall Rascal in Britain |
| Related names | Suzuki Every for the passenger van, and many export badges |
There is no Wikipedia article on the Rascal itself: the English article on the Suzuki Carry it was based on is the only source, so this page is shorter than usual.
History of the Vauxhall Rascal
The Suzuki Carry was born in October 1961 as the FB Suzulight Carry, a pickup with the engine underneath the front seat but a short bonnet, a layout described as semi-cabover. A glassed FBD Carry Van followed in September 1964, and the engine was a 359 cc air-cooled two-stroke twin of 21 PS, giving a top speed of no more than 76 km/h; suspension was rigid with leaf springs front and rear, and a panel van joined the range in July 1962. The Carry was a kei vehicle in Japan, but export versions and derivatives were eventually fitted with engines of up to 1.6 litres.
Through the 1960s and 1970s the Carry moved to a full cab-over layout, gained an independent front suspension, and became one of the most widely rebadged vehicles in the world: in Japan the passenger microvan version was renamed Suzuki Every in 1982, and the Carry has been sold under a long list of names, including Chevrolet and Ford badges. It competed at home with the Kurogane Baby, Honda Acty, Subaru Sambar, Mitsubishi Minicab and Daihatsu Hijet, several of which also met it in export markets.
The Vauxhall Rascal was Vauxhall’s British version of the Carry, sold in the 1990s alongside the larger Astramax and Combo vans. It was a simple, light commercial vehicle with a rear-mounted or under-seat engine and rear-wheel drive, intended for deliveries in towns rather than for long motorway journeys. Because it was a badge-engineered Suzuki, its parts and servicing were shared with the Japanese original, and it appealed to buyers who wanted the smallest possible van or pickup with a UK dealer network behind it.
Design and features
- Suzuki base: the same vehicle as the Japanese Carry.
- Very small: a kei-derived van and pickup for town work.
- Simple engineering: leaf-sprung rear axle and a light body.
- Part of a family: shared with the Suzuki Every microvan and many other badges.
Vauxhall Rascal versions
- Rascal van: the microvan body with side windows or panels.
- Rascal pickup: the dropside truck version.
- Suzuki Carry: the Japanese original.
- Suzuki Every: the passenger microvan version.
The Rascal sat below the Combo and the Astravan in Vauxhall’s commercial range. More cars are in the Vauxhall collection.
Sources
- Suzuki Carry, English Wikipedia: kei truck history, bodies, engines, badges
- Holden Scurry, German Wikipedia: Carry derivatives in export markets
