When it comes to being the ultimate forbidden fruit, few offerings can match the Suzuki Jimny. This adorable creation comes from the same company that called it quits in the U.S. a few years ago, and the Jimny has rapidly ascended into a hit product for the brand in the global market thanks to its cute charms, as well as the sheer amount of potential baked into its platform for custom builds. While the Jimny has played a wide variety of roles, it never cosplayed as a pickup truck, until now.
Spotted by the folks at Driven.co.nz the Jimny truck (ute in Aussie speak) is created by a Suzuki dealership in Whanganui, New Zealand who take the Jimny, and slice off the whole rear end of the tiny utility. In the place of the cramped second row, the dealership puts in a small flat deck with collapsible siding to help keep loads secure when the small workhorse is out and about. The rear also gets cleaned up a bit, but overall the transformation is seamless, with the rear of the cabin even getting a carpeted panel to help separate the bed from the tweaked cabin.
To help simplify things, the modification is only available on the Jimny JX which is one of the more stripped down models in the Jimny range. As a result, frills like LED headlights and alloy wheels are dropped for simpler halogen and steelie units and a 5-speed manual is also the sole transmission choice available. However, the interior is a very interesting place filled with weird contradictions. The steering wheel for example is a urethane unit, yet it comes with satellite buttons for some features, while the non-touchscreen equipped radio comes with bundled Bluetooth capability.
Under the hood is the same 100 horsepower 1.5 liter four cylinder that also sees duty in other Jimny models, and this variant totals out to just over $23,000 which includes the $7,300 needed to do the conversion. That is not cheap when one considers that they can get a more traditional truck that is more capable and rugged for roughly the same price. However, they will be missing out on just how quirky the Jimny is, and the notion of it being a pickup certainly catches our attention. As a bonus, it even comes with an official warranty to help cover the essentials just in case something should indeed go wrong.