to change the diffratios. Most people

cope wlth these massive tyres - even if
the standard 1.6-1itre eight-valve engine
occasionally struggled to drag them up
to speed.
Back when building extreme Vitaras
was an unusual way to spend your time,
the only way to deal wlth this wlthout
performing an engine transplant was
to change the diffratios. Most people
woutdn't bother; but Ian did - he fltted
a Calmini ring and pinion uPgrade,
changing the ratio from 5.12:1 to 5.83:1.
\.Vhile he had the axles open, which is
something you don't want to do more than
you have to (those ten months of planning
come to the fore here), he also stuck in a
pair of ARB Air-Lockers - something he
said at the time he was pretty sure hadn't
yet been done to a UKVitara.
Even today, ARBs are less common
in Vitaras than they are in similarly
preppedJeeps and Landies. But in the
early 2000s, when dealers were still
clearing their stocks of brand new
examples as the Grand Vitara came
in to replace Suzuki's much-loved
original, what Ian was doing seemed
extraordinary. And his motivation had as
much to do with his desire to own a oneoff as it did with hls concern to maximise
the car's off-road performance.
The fact is that even today, this early
example of a modded Vitara still looks
outstanding. Which speaks volumes about
how much of a one-off it really was. We've
had more extreme ones in the mag since
then, but few ever looked as cool, clean
and downrictht sorted as Ian's.
The Vitara's f ront suspension is def initely the biggest stumbling block when it
comes to lifting the vehicle. Several solutions have been developed using live axles,
some of them much more elegant than others, but the three-inch Calmini lift kit
seen here was the most popular conversion during the heyday of Vitara building
One advantage of replacing the independent set-up was that it got rid of the
famouslyfragile front diff, but lan also addressed this by replacing the standard
ring and pinions with 5"83:'1 units. Between them, these mods allowed for a set of
33x12.50R"15
a
tyres
-
enormous for a Vitara, both then and now
With the original back bumper now so far in the air, lan augmented it with
fabricated unit made f rom steel tube. Oddly, this was tested on the way to
the photoshoot where these pictures were taken when someone crashed a
Volvo into the back of the Vitara. As you can see.
damage was limited largely to the, er, Volvo.
One drawback of moving up to bigger tyres
was that the standard mount for the spare
wheel was no longer usable, which is
why it had been shifted to the roof
Not the ideal place for so much
weight, but while ian was waiting
for an adapter to be made up
he at least had somewhere
to put his high-lift and
a lerry can
.
:#qE5l'