The Isuzu Vehicross is a rare and unique off-road vehicle that deserves more love. Beneath its quirky styling, it's a genuinely good off-roader with hardware that would still be considered impressive on a modern SUV. This particular 1999 model is about as good as a Vehicross build gets, with a 4.0-liter V8 engine under the hood, which is a 1UZ-FE engine originally used in the first-generation Lexus LS and GS, as well as various JDM Toyota models.
The engine is paired with a five-speed manual transmission from a Hummer H3 and an NR6 two-speed transfer case with a Behemoth Drivetrain manual-shift conversion kit. The differentials are still Isuzu items, but are equipped with air lockers and 4.77:1 gearing. The Vehicross was built with dual-reservoir shock absorbers, which were rebuilt to soften the ride.
The vehicle also features 35-inch General Grabber X3 tires mounted to 15-inch wheels, custom skid plates, an LED light bar, roof basket, rear bumper guard, reinforced front bumper, rocker guards, and a winch. The sheet metal is painted in a non-factory blue, while the plastic cladding is covered with Line-X spray-on bed liner. This could be a relatively affordable turn-key off-roader, with bidding currently well below $10,000.
The Vehicross combined 1990s styling with then-sophisticated tech like dual-reservoir shocks and a computer-controlled four-wheel drive system. Isuzu intended it to be a rallying homologation special, which was totally on brand for a company that was also selling a Lotus-tuned compact and trying to build an F1 engine. However, by the time the Vehicross made it to the US in 1999, Isuzu's body-on-frame SUV lineup was looking a bit antiquated alongside the first crossovers, and it wasn't the winner Isuzu needed.
Source: thedrive.com
