Suzuki Grand Vitara Marine Concept storms the beaches at SEMA

Some of the industrial giants in Japan make all sorts of things. Yamaha, for example, makes everything from motorbikes to grand pianos. Honda does lawnmowers, business jets and everything in between. Suzuki does cars and they do outboard motors. But seldom do these competencies overlap. Feast your eyes, then, on the exception.

The brainchild of a group of students from Ohio Technical College, the Suzuki Grand Vitara Marine Concept is making its debut at SEMA in Las Vegas right now. The idea was to bring Suzuki’s automotive and marine powertrain divisions together in one package, but we kinda wish they hadn’t.

The vehicle features an open roof, motorboat-style side glass, a big brush guard, knobby tires, a nautical-style radar arch, a rather strange bass boat paint job and – for some reason – an outboard engine hanging off the back. So does that mean it’s amphibious? Not quite. Which means if you drive it into the water, it will, in all likelihood, sink to the bottom. Hmmm….