Suzuki Fronte

The Suzuki Fronte (Japanese: スズキ・フロンテ) is an automobile introduced in March 1962 as a sedan version of the Suzulight Van. The nameplate remained in use for Suzuki's Kei car sedans as well as some commercial-use derivatives until it was replaced by the Alto (originally only used for commercial vehicles) in September 1988.

The "fronte" nameplate initially alluded to the fact that the initial Fronte was front-wheel-drive, but during the years when the Fronte was rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, Suzuki stated that it referred to their aim of being at the front of the Kei class.

The Suzulight Van-based TLA Fronte was introduced in March 1962 as a passenger car version of the popular light van. Built at Takatsuka Assembly in Hamamatsu, the Suzulight Fronte was based on the earlier Suzulight SS series, itself a fairly straightforward copy of the even older Lloyd LP400, and as such had a transversely mounted two-cylinder, two-stroke engine driving the front wheels. Suspension was independent on all four wheels, with transverse double leafsprings on both axes. 2,565 were built in the first year. Power was 25 PS (18 kW) at 6000 rpm, from a unique engine (also called "TLA") with its cylinders cast separately rather than in a single block. Of 360 cc (64.0 × 56.0 mm) this method allowed for a lower production cost and better cooling, allowing Suzuki to price the TLA below the more spartan TL Van. As with the light commercials on which it was based, the transmission was a three-speed manual with an unsynchronized first gear and a column-mounted shifter.

The TLA engine had problems with seizing after prolonged use of high revs and after only one year's production, it was replaced by the new FEA engine. This also featured the SELMIX automatic lubrication system, improved fuel economy and eliminated the need for pre-mixed petrol for the two-stroke engine. Power was down somewhat, to 21 PS (15 kW). This was counteracted by the installation of a new, all-synchronized four-speed gearbox.

In May 1963, two of the recently introduced FE-powered Suzuki Frontes came in first and second in their class at the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix (Class C1, for engines with less than 400 cc), with an average speed of 89.763 km/h (55.776 mph). Two more Frontes came in fourth and eighth places. The winning driver was Osamu Mochizuki (望月 修) who crossed the finish line just ahead of teammate Haruhisa Fujita (藤田 晴久), both a full minute ahead of the third-placed Subaru 360. The fastest lap was also made by a Fronte, by eighth-place finisher Isamu Kawashima, who managed a lap speed of 90.72 km/h (56.37 mph) around the 6 km (3.7 mi) course.

In October 1965 the further improved CCI engine (Cylinder Crank Injection), which further cut down oil consumption and startup smoke. The FEA-II engine also gained an extra horsepower, for a total of 22. The FEA-II also received a new front-end treatment, aping its bigger brother the Fronte 800. Production was about 150 cars per month at this time (2,101 Frontes had been built in 1963), very low compared to the 2,000 or so Subaru 360 built monthly. In 1966 this became known as the "New FEA" after another slight facelift which included a new dashboard. By the end of its production run (1967), the Suzulight Fronte was beginning to look rather dated, especially at the rear end, and the chassis was positively archaic.

The Suzuki Fronte 360 two-door sedan (chassis code LC10) was introduced in March 1967 to replace the earlier Suzulight Fronte. The "Y-16", as the project had been known, had a rear engine and ten inch wheels for maximum packaging. The car sprang from the 1961 "FC" project, also with a rear-engine but with rear-hinged doors, a reverse-angle rear window (à la the Ford Anglia) and an overall rakish profile. This earlier stillborn project, called the "Suzulight Sports 360", was a reaction to the success of the rear-engined Subaru 360 and had a unique 360 cc two-cylinder engine. Even earlier (1960), there was an open two-seater prototype called the FA, with the same engine and layout as used in the FC. Suzuki's new test track in Ryūyō was put to intense use for the development program, while tropical and cold weather testing was carried out in Thailand and on Hokkaido respectively. In the Japanese domestic market, the Fronte competed directly with the Mitsubishi Minica, Honda N360, Daihatsu Fellow, and the Subaru 360.

Its overall shape is of a roundish profile, soon nicknamed "Daruma" for a Japanese roly-poly doll - this is the smallest (and arguably the only Kei Jidosha) car to use the "coke bottle styling" which became popular in the United States in the mid-1960s. The wheelbase was 1,960 mm (77.2 in), the suspension independent with coil springs and the engine was an all new 356 cc three-cylinder air-cooled two-cycle unit which was also called the LC10. The transmission was a four-speed manual, originally with synchromesh on the top three gears only. The rear lights and the front indicators used the same lenses, only of different colours. In a break with Fronte's front-wheel drive traditions, the powertrain was placed transversely in the rear, as was becoming the norm for kei cars of the period. The LC10 Fronte was dubbed the "Queen of the keis" by Suzuki's marketing department - a claim which may have influenced Subaru to name their 360 replacement the "Rex".