This Suzuki LJ80R was gifted to legendary bike racer Barry Sheene by the Suzuki GB staff as a thanks for his exceptional exploits piloting Suzuki superbikes in prime tier competitors.
The Jimny was Suzuki’s entry into the four-wheel drive market, it first appeared in 1970 and in contrast to the full-size Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol, the Jimny was designed to be a smaller class of auto to satisfy Japan’s Kei automobile laws.
Quick Information – The Suzuki Jimny
- The Suzuki Jimny initially began life because the HopeStar ON360, a small four-wheel drive developed by Japanese automaker Hope Motor Firm. After they went bankrupt they have been acquired by Suzuki.
- The official mannequin identify of the primary Jimny was the Suzuki LJ10 (Gentle Jeep 10), this was adopted by the LJ20, LJ50, LJ80, and so forth, every denoting a bigger extra highly effective engine.
- Every of the 4 generations of the Jimny have used body-on-chassis development with reside axles entrance and rear, selectable four-wheel drive with excessive and low-range, and a ruggedly easy drivetrain.
- Barry Sheene rode for the Suzuki works bike grand prix staff from 1973 to 1979, he received the 500cc world championship twice for the Japanese staff in 1976 and 1977, with a second place end in 1978 and a 3rd place end in 1979.
Barry Sheene + Suzuki
Barry Sheene’s 1979 season-long battle with fellow racer “King” Kenny Roberts has lengthy been considered as some of the consequential within the sport’s historical past – notably the exceptional battle on the 1979 British Grand Prix.
Sheene rode for the Suzuki works bike grand prix staff on the prime 500cc degree from 1973 to 1979, he received the 500cc world championship twice for the Suzuki in 1976 and 1977, with a second place end in 1978 and a 3rd place end in 1979.
In whole, Sheene would take 21 wins over each the 500cc and 125cc courses for Suzuki between 1971 and 1979. He left to race for Yamaha in 1980 however returned to Suzuki in 1983, racing with them till 1984 when a severe crash at Silverstone all however ended his profession.
Barry Sheene’s Suzuki Jimny LJ80R
As talked about within the introduction, this Suzuki Jimny LJ80R was gifted to Barry Sheene by Suzuki Nice Britain as a thanks for his years of service with the staff. It was embellished along with his racing quantity “7” in addition to his identify, and a few purple racing stripes for good measure.
Sheene stored the automobile and used it usually for 5 years – proper the way in which by means of he tenure as a racer for Yamaha and into the 2 years that he returned to race for Suzuki. Maybe a sign that his coronary heart at all times lay with the Suzuki staff.
The Jimny8/LJ80 was an up to date model of the sooner LJ50, it’s powered by a single overhead cam 800 cc, four-stroke, inline four-cylinder engine producing 42 hp. Energy is shipped to the wheels by way of a 4-speed guide transmission and the automobile tipped the scales at roughly 590 kgs (1,301 lbs).
The LJ80 makes use of body-on-chassis development, like all Jimnys as much as the newest era. It rides on reside axles back and front and due to its small measurement and low weight, it will probably get out and in of many locations that bigger four-wheel drives can’t.
Silverstone Auctions will likely be providing this Jimny on the market on the twelfth of November, the present worth information is £20,000 – £30,000 which works out to roughly $22,300 – $33,400 USD. It’ll possible be very interesting to these with an curiosity in motorsport historical past and a penchant for classic 4x4s.
In the event you’d prefer to reads extra or register to bid you’ll be able to go to the itemizing right here.
Photographs courtesy of Silverstone Auctions by Alan Kenny Pictures
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