This very rare and super powerful 1991 Isuzu Como F1 Super Truck, and it may just be one of the most wild automotive creations of all time, hands down. This unique car came to life during the early 1990’s, when Japanese commercial vehicle and diesel engine manufacturing company, Isuzu Motors Ltd., was in the middle of secretly producing a formula 1 racing 3.5L DOHC V12 engine that was code named at the time, ‘P799WE’. This engine was designed to pass all of the rigorous Formula One rules and regulations, and for a brief period of time, Isuzu and Team Lotus collaborated to use this engine in a car called the Lotus F1 type 102C, however, the car never utilized the Isuzu V12 during a race. Team Lotus was a Motorsport racing team which was directly related to the English sports car manufacturer, Lotus Cars. While both Isuzu and Lotus collaborated in the hopes to make use this newly developed secret V12 engine, the partnership eventually came to end an end before even entering the car into an official race. This lead the hard-working engineers and staff at Isuzu to seek a new platform before their engine went to waste. So, as a result, with the help of a designer by the name of Simon Cox, who is also well-known for designing the outlandish Cadillac Cien, the Como F1 Super Truck was born. Sharing basically zero design characteristics or functionalities of a standard pick-up truck, the Como featured elements such as Lamborghini-style scissor doors, a 2+2 seating layout, and even a cargo bed with decent storage space. While this unique one-off creation might have never made it beyond the conceptual stage of development, in 2001, Isuzu revived the Como name as a light commercial van, which was later rebadged as the ‘Nissan Caravan’. This Caravan model went into production around 1973, and is still in production to this day, however, it appears nothing similar to the Como concept car.
How many made? 1
Engine: 3.5L DOHC mid-mounted V12 race engine - a claimed 740bhp (P799WE)
Debut: 1991 Tokyo Motor Show
Top Speed: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: Allcarindex.com
Research: @rarecarsonly