The Isuzu VehiCROSS is a compact SUV that Isuzu made from 1997 to 2001, in Japan from 1997 to 1999 and in the United States from 1999 to 2001. It shared its platform with the short-wheelbase second-generation Isuzu Trooper, and it was one of the few production cars that arrived almost unchanged from its show car.
Isuzu VehiCROSS at a glance
| Maker | Isuzu Motors, Japan |
|---|---|
| Production | 1997–2001 |
| Class | compact three-door SUV |
| Platform | short-wheelbase second-generation Isuzu Trooper |
| Engines | 3.2 L and 3.5 L V6, 215 bhp |
| Torque | 230 lb·ft at 3,000 rpm |
| Four-wheel drive | BorgWarner Torque on Demand |
| Wheels | 16-inch in Japan, 18-inch in the USA from 2000 |
| Built | 5,958 (1,805 Japan, 4,153 USA) |
| Concepts | VX-4 four-door and VX-O2 roadster of 2000 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia)
History of the Isuzu VehiCROSS
From the Tokyo show to the road
The VehiCROSS was first shown as a concept at the 1993 Tokyo International Auto Show and reached Japanese production in 1997 with very few design changes and in a very short time. Isuzu achieved that with inexpensive ceramic body-stamping dies and by reusing parts already in production, and the truck was intended to showcase the company’s off-road technology. It was one of the few vehicles to be sold with monotube shock absorbers with external heat-expansion chambers, a technology normally used in off-road motorcycle racing.
Design and chassis
The VehiCROSS is a compact three-door SUV with short overhangs, a forward stance, titanium teeth in the grille, a black bonnet insert and black plastic cladding over the lower half of the body. The design team was led by Shiro Nakamura and Satomi Murayama of Isuzu’s European office in Brussels and included Simon Cox, Joji Yanaka, Andrew Hill and Nick Robinson; their brief was a lightweight but tough, fun but environmentally friendly SUV. Underneath it shared much with the Trooper, including the 3.2 and 3.5-litre V6 engines of 215 bhp and 230 lb·ft, and the BorgWarner Torque on Demand four-wheel-drive system, which combined computer-controlled all-wheel drive for the road with a low-gear four-wheel-drive mode for off-road use. The American version used constant four-wheel drive with twelve sensors that redirected power to the wheels with the most grip.
A limited-production cult car
Sales were deliberately limited: 5,958 vehicles were built between 1997 and 2001, 1,805 for Japan and 4,153 for the United States, echoing the limited-production approach Isuzu had used with the 117 Coupé and the Piazza. A four-door concept, the VX-4, and a roadster, the VX-O2, were shown at the 2000 Los Angeles show but never reached production; both went to the Petersen Automotive Museum and were eventually destroyed by Isuzu in 2017. The VehiCROSS won the 1999 Russian Spirit of Time Award, appeared on the cover of Motor Trend in May 1999 and was placed in its Top 10 Sport Utilities for unique styling. It won both the Stage 2 and Stage 4 classes in the 1998 Paris–Granada–Dakar Rally and its class in the 1999 Australian Safari, and in 2005–2007 a VehiCROSS became the robotic VX of Austin Robot Technology for the DARPA Grand Challenge.
Design and features
- Concept-car looks: almost unchanged from the 1993 Tokyo show car.
- Trooper mechanicals: short-wheelbase chassis and 3.2 or 3.5-litre V6.
- Torque on Demand: computer-controlled four-wheel drive with twelve sensors.
- Racing record: class wins at the 1998 Dakar and the 1999 Australian Safari.
Isuzu VehiCROSS versions
- Japanese VehiCROSS (1997–1999): 16-inch alloys, rear- or four-wheel drive.
- American VehiCROSS (1999–2001): constant four-wheel drive, 18-inch chrome wheels from 2000.
- VX-4 and VX-O2 (2000): four-door and roadster concepts, never produced.
The VehiCROSS used the short-wheelbase platform of the Trooper and the limited-production idea of the 117 Coupé and Piazza. More models are in the Isuzu collection.
Video: Uwharrie Daniel Isuzu Vehicross
Video by IsuzuVan on YouTube.
Sources
- Isuzu VehiCROSS, English Wikipedia: design, specifications, production, motorsport
