The Suzuki Jimny 5-Door will be shown in Tokyo Next Month

Japan’s Nihon Automotive Technology School (NATS) is currently developing a hardcore 5-door Jimny concept.

Students at Japan’s Nihon Automotive Technology School (NATS) are creating a concept of a production-spec Jimny 5-door. Even though the design is not stock, it could still be similar to what we might expect from the carmaker itself.

NATS Suzuki Jimny 5-door concept: What’s under the skin

In this upcoming one-off creation, only parts of the SUV’s bodyshell remain stock, as previously mentioned. According to reports, the SUV sits on a customised chassis that increases the vehicle’s length by 400mm with a welded-on modified body.

After slicing the body shell in half, the roof paneling was added to fill out the void, and the stock Jimny’s rear window was re-fabricated into quarter windows. Due to the seats remaining on their original mounting points, rear legroom is improved over the 3-door, but boot space remains minimal with the rear seats up.

The front bumper, too, was custom-molded, and the stock wheels and suspension have been replaced by a more off-road-centric set-up. The wider fender extensions match the SUV’s wider track, adding to the design.

The SUV has also been upgraded under the hood. An aftermarket turbocharger kit will boost the performance of the stock petrol engine.

Suzuki Jimny for India

While the NATS project remains a concept, the official 5-door Jimny is still some time off. The company’s tried and tested 1.5-litre petrol engine powering models such as the Ciaz, Ertiga and Vitara Brezza will power the 5-door Jimny for India, which will remain under the 4m mark at around 3.8m in length.

It is expected that the Jimny will be one of five new Maruti SUVs to arrive in India over the next three years. Maruti could also offer the smaller 3-door model alongside the larger 5-door.

Maruti will launch a number of new or updated models for the domestic market in 2022, aside from SUVs. Major updates are expected for the Baleno and Vitara Brezza, while the Ertiga and XL6 will receive facelifts. Additionally, the all-new Alto is expected to launch late next year.