22/09/2026
Time Capsule Series | LJ
Most manufacturers in the ‘70s were busy making vehicles bigger.
But Suzuki had other ideas. A pretty radical idea to take a 4WD and make it tiny.
They shrunk a 4WD down to around 600kg, bolted in a 359cc two-stroke engine, added proper part-time 4WD, and sent it off into the wilderness. It wasn’t trying to be the biggest, toughest thing on the track - it was actually the complete opposite. This was the vehicle that started it all, the Suzuki LJ.
Launched in Japan in 1970, the LJ10 was Suzuki’s first-ever 4WD and just two years later, the LJ20 refined the formula with a water-cooled engine and improved reliability, helping pave the way for Suzuki’s expansion into export markets.
In 1975, Australians would get their first taste of the LJ series with the arrival of the LJ50.
The small but capable 4WD came powered by a 539cc three-cylinder two-stroke that gave it some extra grunt — and helped make it particularly well suited to Australia.
Then, in 1977, came the LJ80. The two-stroke engine was gone, replaced by a 797cc four-cylinder four-stroke. It was a significant step forward in performance and drivability, while still sticking to the lightweight, compact 4WD formula that made the LJ so different in the first place.
For its time, there really wasn’t much else quite like it.
More than 50 years later, this tiny yet quirky, and surprisingly capable 4WD, would become the grandfather of Suzuki’s legendary off-road lineup. The LJ series was the beginning of what would become one of Suzuki’s most important formulas: keep it small, keep it simple, and give it four-wheel drive.
It challenged the idea that adventure required a big vehicle, proving that a lightweight 4WD could take you almost anywhere. A lot of people admired this about the tiny Zook and what it represented: simplicity, capability and a sense of adventure. Along the way, it brought together a like-minded community, and some might say this is where it all began — behind the wheel of a little Suzuki.
