By now, most of us already know that even the stock Suzuki Jimny can already handle rough terrain. And yes, we here at Philkotse know that first hand, as we’ve already had the opportunity to test and review this mean and capable little SUV.
2020 Suzuki Jimny: Too cute to be practical | Philkotse Reviews
A German off-roading tuning company by the name of delta4x4 however, has made the current Jimny even more off-road ready by transforming it into a high-riding, gnarly-looking, off-road beast. The Jimny in question was also developed in cooperation with Avus Auto, a Swiss tuning company that specializes in “unusual conversions.”
The "Jimny Portal" by delta4x4 and Avus Autos
As with most off-road builds, what has been dubbed as the “Jimny Portal” gets several upgrades. For starters, the two companies that built it gave it a beefier set of tires rated for winter use, a 40mm body lift kit, a three-ton winch, stainless steel protection plates, a roof rack, among others.
The more unique addition to this Jimny however is a set of “Tibus” portal axles. For those unaware, these are axles that are tucked in more towards the chassis and thus are positioned far above the center of the wheel hub. This is done by way of gears for each wheel, and thus raising the centerpoint of the Jimny.
From this angle, you can see how the portal axles are positioned
By using portal axles, this Jimny from delta4x4 and Avus Auto has an enormous amount of ground clearance (400mm) relative to its overall dimensions. This allows it to tackle anything from fording deep rivers to rock crawling.
Besides the portal axles, also included in this build is a 100 percent differential lock for both the front and rear axles.
With all that said, the Jimny Portal isn’t cheap. For instance, the portal axles along with all available options including the differential locks cost a total of around 70,000 Swiss Francs. That’s Php 3.8 million before shipping, taxes, and installation costs. But yeah, that’s the price you have to pay for a Jimny that can literally conquer any terrain that you can throw at it.
Rock crawling, mudding, whatever. We reckon this Jimny can deal with it
For more interesting car builds from around the globe, keep it here on Philkotse.com.