1999 Suzuki Pu3-Commuter

Original name: スズキ Pu3-コミューター

The Suzuki Pu3-commuter, a simple-to-use, two-seat small car which also features environmentally friendly designs -- an automobile with a scooter-like feel -- was highly acclaimed when it was exhibited at the 33rd Tokyo Motor Show. The Pu3-commuter has a chassis structure that accepts three different types of power units - a gasoline engine, a hybrid system, or an electric motor - to meet a wide range of user needs. For this Motor Show, based on the Suzuki Pu3-commuter, we have taken its concept a step further and developed and have on display a 'Suzuki Pu3-commuter Passenger Seat Wheelchair Version', a compact and user-friendly 'welfare vehicle'. The passenger seat side door on this vehicle is a slide type which provides a large opening area, and its specially designed passenger seat doubles as a wheelchair for the elderly and the handicapped, which means a person seated in this wheelchair can get in the vehicle without getting off the wheelchair. We believe this vehicle can be of much use both for household use and for elderly-care businesses as convenient mobility for people on wheelchairs. The specially designed wheelchair can be used as an ordinary passenger seat just by electrically retracting its wheels. The wheelchair is loaded onto the vehicle with a simple, newly developed electric slide-arm type loading system. With this system, ultrasonic sensors placed at two sections on both the vehicle and the wheelchair measure the optimum position and angle for loading the wheelchair, and inform the position and angle to the caregiver with a display panel on the back of the passenger seat, thus helping make sure the wheelchair is properly in its place in the vehicle. In addition, by using this loading system and the wheels of the wheelchair, it is possible to load a shopping cart or a baby carriage, to meet a wide range of user needs. The concept of Suzuki Pu3-commuter which this version was based on was highly acclaimed: the vehicle become the winner of 'Best of Tokyo Motor Show'award. This award was sponsored by an American automobile journal Automotive News International to be given to the best concept car at the 33rd Tokyo Motor Show. The Pu3-commuter won the award in recognition of its innovativeness, design, environmentally friendly construction, and high possibility as a potential production model.

source: Suzuki

Engine & performance:

Type: 3-cylinder, DOHC

Capacity: 660 cc

Dimensions:

Length: 2675 mm

Width: 1475 mm

Height: 1450 mm

Wheelbase: 1800 mm

Weight: 550 kg