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.
Median 62 hp across 128 similar cars
Lead trim: T5B 0.54 L two-stroke SS30 (28 PS) · up to 31 hp
Suzuki Fronte SS30/SS40SS30/SS40/SS80 · 1979–1984
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Suzuki Fronte SS30/SS40 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.
FactThe 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.
Replaced the Fronte 7-S in May 1979 as a big step to a transverse front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout on a wheelbase stretched from 2,030 to 2,150 mm; commercial versions were now all called Alto (also the export name), with the two-door getting a proper rear hatch and the four-door an opening rear glass. The SS30S kept the 539 cc T5B two-stroke at 28 PS (not offered in the Fronte after May 1981); the SS40S had the newly developed 543 cc four-stroke three-cylinder F5A at 31 PS, which soon displaced the two-stroke. Both claimed 110 km/h. In Europe the Alto also came with a 796 cc four-stroke three (SS80) from July 1981, 100 mm longer with 12-inch wheels; Chile called it the "Fronte 800". The low-cost FX-A/FS-A arrived in May 1980, a grille revision in May 1981 and a two-speed torque-converter automatic that October. A May 1983 facelift brought square headlamps, door mirrors and a compression ratio of 9.7:1, with claimed power down to 29 PS at 6,000 rpm and a digital-instrument FS-QG. The Alto outsold the Fronte about five to two.
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
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F5A 0.54 L SOHC SS40 (29 PS, from May 1983) | 1983–1984 | 0.5 L Inline-3 | 29 hp | 30 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| F5A 0.54 L SOHC four-stroke SS40 (31 PS) | 1979–1983 | 0.5 L Inline-3 | 31 hp | 30 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| T5B 0.54 L two-stroke SS30 (28 PS) | 1979–1981 | 0.5 L Inline-3 | 28 hp | 38 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
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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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