New emissions rules hit Suzuki's two-stroke engine so hard it had to buy four-stroke engines from arch-rival Daihatsu to keep selling the Fronte.
Median 56 hp across 60 similar cars
Lead trim: T4A 0.44 L two-stroke (26 PS) · up to 28 hp
Suzuki Fronte 7-S SS10/SS20SS10/SS20 · 1976–1979
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Suzuki Fronte 7-S SS10/SS20 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactNew emissions rules hit Suzuki's two-stroke engine so hard it had to buy four-stroke engines from arch-rival Daihatsu to keep selling the Fronte.
Presented in early June 1976 as an interim 500 cc-class kei car (the government planned to raise the engine limit to 550 cc), 100 mm wider than the LC20 with a bored-out 443 cc T4A two-stroke three-cylinder; "7-S" stood for Space, Safety, Sense, Save money, Silent, Stamina and Suzuki TC. Rear-engined and rear-drive with a four-speed, two- or four-door hatchback (four-doors were about 70 percent of output) with an opening rear window and a larger front luggage area. Suzuki's two-catalyst TC system met the provisional 1975 emissions rules, at the cost of power (26 PS at 4,500 rpm versus the 360's 32 PS) and a very hot exhaust; those rules expired in September 1977. A larger 539 cc T5A (SS20, first seen in the Jimny) followed sixteen months later with 28 PS at 5,000 rpm; a 547 cc Daihatsu AB10 twin powered the SS11. Advertised as "It's Still Alive" for remaining a two-stroke. Replaced in May 1979 by the front-drive SS30/SS40.
Collectors Spotted in the Suzuki Fronte Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Suzuki Fronte yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T4A 0.44 L two-stroke (26 PS) | 1976–1979 | 0.4 L Inline-3 | 26 hp | 34 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| T5A 0.54 L two-stroke SS20 (28 PS) | 1977–1979 | 0.5 L Inline-3 | 28 hp | 38 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Six months before Suzuki retired the Fronte name for good, the CN11S's 796cc version was already being built in China under a completely different name: the Anchi 6330.
When Suzuki built the next Cervo in 1988, it didn't start from scratch — the chassis, front clip and door panels were lifted straight from the outgoing CB/CD72 Fronte.
The SS30/SS40 Fronte tore up the old formula entirely — Suzuki ditched the rear-engine, rear-drive layout of the previous Fronte for a modern transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive setup.
New emissions rules hit Suzuki's two-stroke engine so hard it had to buy four-stroke engines from arch-rival Daihatsu to keep selling the Fronte.
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the tiny Fronte Coupé by recycling his own one-box concept from the 1967 electric 'Rowan Elettrica' city car — then Suzuki reworked it for a 356cc kei car.
Tuning the Fronte 360's triple carburettors meant reaching through a small egg-shaped hole behind the rear seat — that's literally where Suzuki put them.
Suzuki named the Fronte for its own claim to being at the front of kei-car development, and for its front-wheel drive.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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