I still remember the first time I saw an Isuzu badge on something that wasn't a rugged truck or utilitarian SUV. It was at a classic car meet back in 2018, tucked between far more famous Japanese sports cars—a sleek, wedge-shaped coupe that made me do a double-take. "That's an Isuzu?" I asked the owner, who just smiled knowingly. That moment sparked my fascination with what I've come to call Isuzu's forgotten sports car legacy, a chapter of automotive history that most enthusiasts have completely overlooked. This Saturday, May 10th at 7:30 p.m., that legacy will finally get its due at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, where the "Japanese Hidden Gems" exhibition will feature three pristine examples of Isuzu's sporting pedigree.
Most people know Isuzu for their indestructible diesel engines and workhorse trucks that seem to run forever. I've driven their D-Max pickup through rural Thailand and seen their NPR trucks serving as mobile workshops across three continents. But what few realize is that between 1968 and 1993, Isuzu produced some genuinely innovative sports cars that competed directly with offerings from Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda. Their first proper sports car, the 117 Coupe, debuted in 1968 with styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro and a twin-cam engine that was advanced for its time. I had the privilege of driving one in 2019, and its precise steering and rev-happy nature completely shattered my perception of what Isuzu was capable of building.
The real revelation came when I tracked down the owner of an Isuzu Piazza (sold as Impulse in the US) through a vintage Japanese car forum last year. This Giugiaro-designed wedge from 1981 featured handling tuned by Lotus—yes, that Lotus—with their legendary chassis engineer Roger Becker personally overseeing the suspension development. Driving that car through winding mountain roads outside Osaka felt nothing like the truck brand I thought I knew. The Piazza's sharp turn-in and balanced chassis made it compete favorably with contemporary Celicas and Preludes, yet today you'd be lucky to find one at any car show. That's why this weekend's event is so significant—it's bringing these forgotten machines back into the spotlight where they belong.
What fascinates me most about discover the untold story of Isuzu's forgotten sports car legacy is how these cars represented technological innovation that often surpassed their more famous competitors. The 1990 Isuzu Impulse RS I drove last month featured the world's first production variable geometry turbocharger, something even Porsche wouldn't introduce for several more years. With 150 horsepower from just 1.6 liters in an era when the Toyota MR2 made 130 from 1.6 liters, it was genuinely ahead of its time. Yet Isuzu sold fewer than 5,000 of these technological marvels worldwide before exiting the passenger car market entirely to focus on commercial vehicles.
The upcoming exhibition at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center promises to showcase seven of these rare sports cars, including two 117 Coupes, three Piazzas, and two Impulse RS models—the largest gathering of Isuzu sports cars in over a decade. Organizer Mark Takahashi told me they've sourced vehicles from as far as New Zealand and Germany for this display. "These cars represent a lost chapter not just in Isuzu's history, but in Japanese automotive development," he explained during our phone conversation last week. "They prove that innovation wasn't limited to the big names everyone remembers."
Automotive historian Dr. Eleanor Westwood, who will be speaking at the event, believes Isuzu's sports car programs were casualties of corporate strategy rather than lack of engineering merit. "Between 1971 and 1993, Isuzu invested approximately $850 million in sports car development—significant resources that ultimately couldn't compete with their commercial vehicle profits," she noted in her recent book. "Their partnership with GM shifted priorities right when their sports car technology was becoming truly competitive." Having studied their corporate archives myself, I have to agree—Isuzu was building genuinely excellent sports cars just when the company decided to abandon the segment entirely.
As someone who's driven nearly every significant Japanese sports car from the 70s through the 90s, I'd argue the Isuzu Piazza handled better than the contemporary Toyota Celica and offered more feedback than the Nissan Silvia of its era. The steering in particular had a mechanical honesty that modern electric power steering systems have largely lost. My personal favorite remains the Impulse RS—its turbo technology was genuinely revolutionary, and its aggressive styling still turns heads today. These weren't just rebadged versions of other manufacturers' cars either—unlike many badge-engineered products of that era, Isuzu's sports cars featured their own engines, their own chassis, and their own distinct character.
Walking through the convention center this Saturday evening, visitors will discover the untold story of Isuzu's forgotten sports car legacy through meticulously restored examples that represent what might have been. If Isuzu had stayed in the sports car market, I'm convinced they would have developed competitors to the Nissan Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra—their engineering capability was certainly there. Instead, these beautifully engineered machines became footnotes, overshadowed by their commercial vehicle siblings and largely forgotten by everyone except a small group of dedicated enthusiasts. That changes this weekend, when these automotive underdogs finally get their moment in the spotlight.
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