4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 1985–95
NAMED MODELJapan

Samurai (North America, 1985–95)

The American SJ: the Samurai, launched in 1985 and selling 47,000 in its first year, the cheapest new 4x4 in the United States; a 1988 Consumer Reports rollover test and the lawsuit that followed cut its sales, and it ended in 1995.

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Sources & evidence
Samurai (North America, 1985–95) — A 1991 Samurai JL soft topAccord14 · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
BASE VEHICLESJ30, SJ410 and SJ413 / Samurai (1981–98)BUILT BYSuzuki, Kosai, ShizuokaIN SERVICE1985–95OPERATED INUnited StatesPRODUCTION47,000 in the first yearLAYOUT4 wheels · 79.9″

The record

The Samurai was Suzuki’s American breakthrough and then its American problem; the magazine’s verdict was disputed in court for years. Surviving Samurais are a staple of cheap off-roading and rock-crawling.

Specification

MANUFACTURED1985–95
ENGINE1.3-litre G13 four
PRODUCTION RUN47,000 in the first year; total not published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINJapan
OPERATED INUnited States
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINELJ, SJ and Jimny
FAMILYLJ, SJ and Jimny
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE79.9″
BODY STYLEsoft

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Superior White

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Suzuki Jimny ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-22 · status: researched