Yomper—what a great name for a new car. And yes, this is a new car, although that may not be entirely obvious from a quick glance at the front end.
It’s the work of UK-based startup Samson Engineering and is aimed at farmers and small business owners out in the sticks who want a cheap, small, off-road utility vehicle that can carry a load of stuff and won’t leave heavy tire tracks across wet fields. Makes sense.
It is, of course, based on the third-generation Suzuki Jimny, but its makers say it’s more than just a pickup conversion. There’s a new bespoke chassis and you can have the body in either tray back ‘Bergan’ or alloy drop side ‘Commercial’ spec. It has IVA approval and both versions can carry a payload of 500kg.
The engine is the standard Suzuki 1.3-liter 16-valve petrol unit, but as part of the circa £20,000 (P1.35 million) purchase price, the powertrain is completely rebuilt and upgraded to be as reliable as possible.
Thoughts, folks?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
