Start with what the Isuzu 117 Coupé is: a 2-door coupé with Petrol engine, built from 1968 to 1981, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Where it came from
The Isuzu 117 Coupé is a compact Gran Turismo type 2-door fastback coupé which was produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Isuzu between 1968 and 1981. 117 was the codename for a common development program of Isuzu mid-size cars, involving a coupé, sedan, and station wagon. The latter two eventually became the Isuzu Florian, but the coupé kept the original name. The two ranges shared mechanicals, including the complete FR layout chassis with recirculating ball steering.
The 117 Coupé was styled by the famous Giorgetto Giugiaro, being one of the first Japanese cars designed by an Italian stylist. It was among the first Japanese cars with a DOHC engine, and the first with electronic fuel injection. The 117 can be regarded as the world's first sports car to be available with a diesel engine. It was quite an exclusive vehicle during its lifetime, and is a rare collectible now, but thanks to its unusually long lifecycle, Isuzu manufactured 86,192 units. The 117 Coupé was replaced by the Isuzu Piazza in the Isuzu lineup.
Under the skin
The engine is Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 1050-1090 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual transmission / manual (1968–1981; 1.6/1.8 L) / 5-speed manual (1976–1981; 1.9/2.2 L) / 3-speed automatic transmission / automatic (1975–1981; 1.8/1.9/2.2 L). The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2500 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Isuzu line-up the Isuzu 117 Coupé has a clear place: it handed the line to the Isuzu Piazza; the factory was Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Kawasaki Plant), Japan. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Toyota Hilux, the Peugeot 504, the Range Rover Range Rover. Nearby in the Isuzu catalogue sit the Isuzu Gemini and the 4000 Series Medium Duty.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Isuzu 117 Coupé has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.