Marketing staff at Suzuki Auto South Africa had been itching to host the world’s biggest Jimny gathering for quite some time.
The original plan was to stage such an event in 2020, but we all know how pear shaped that year went.
But after reaching out to Jimny owners in 2022 to see who might be interested in such a gathering, it all came together over the 2023 Heritage Day weekend.
It turns out that a quite lot of them were interested. More than 800 to be precise.
They all descended on the Langkranz Farm near the beautiful southern Free State town of Clarens for a weekend of “Suzuki Safari Town” festivities, which included music, great food and good old fashioned kuier.
And a Guinness World Record to boot.
On Sunday, 787 Suzuki vehicles switched on their headlights at the same time in front of a Guinness World Records representative.
It was narrated by South African comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout, who drove to the gathering in his own Jimny. He entertained the crowds alongside Pedro Barbosa, Steve Umculo and Soul Man’s Rhythm and Blues Machine.
The soon-to-be-launched Suzuki Jimny 5-Door also made a special appearance at the festival’s 4x4 course, giving prospective buyers the chance to see and experience the new addition to the range.
Set to be launched locally before the end of 2023, the stretched model is 350mm longer than the 3-Door, creating more legroom and increasing the boot capacity to 211 litres. Pricing will be released closer to launch.
Another surprise for Suzuki fans was the guest appearance of Suzuki’s global design department manager Hisanori Matsushima, who worked on the current Jimny.
“It was a privilege to host Matsushima-san at the South African Jimny Gathering,” said Brendon Carpenter, Brand Marketing Manager at Suzuki Auto SA.
“While he is well versed on the global success of the Jimny, it was great to introduce him to the fun and friendly South African Jimny fans and show him how his creation is used by adventure-seeking fans to explore every corner of our beautiful country,” Carpenter added.
IOL Motoring