CarBrandLogos archive · Isuzu · 1962

IsuzuBellel

Japan's first diesel passenger car, from a firm that knew diesels better than cars.

Photo: TTTNIS · CC0

The story

A defining chapter in Isuzu history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Isuzu Bellel, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Isuzu built passenger cars under licence from Rootes through the 1950s, assembling the Hillman Minx at Fujisawa. The Bellel, launched in 1961, was the company's first attempt at a saloon of its own design; the name paired the English "bell" with the Roman numeral for fifty.

1964 Isuzu Bellel 2000 Deluxe rear · TTTNIS · CC0

Design and engineering

Its distinction was the engine list. Alongside petrol fours, Isuzu offered a two-litre diesel — the first fitted to a Japanese passenger car, and a natural move for a firm whose real expertise lay in commercial vehicles. Taxi operators noticed, even if private buyers largely did not.

1967 Isuzu Bellel · TTTNIS · CC0

In production

The Bellel was upright, conservatively engineered and comfortably outclassed by what Toyota and Nissan were doing by the mid-1960s. It lasted until 1967 and was replaced by the Florian. Isuzu's real success in passenger cars came instead from the smaller Bellett, launched two years later and a far better resolved car.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

Petrol engine

Body

4-door sedan

Technical specification

The Bellel, in detail.

Production: 1961–1967
Class: compact
Body style: 4-door sedan; 5-door station wagon
Engine: Petrol engine; petrol: ; 1491 cc List of Isuzu engines#GL150; GL150 Inline-four engine; I4 OHV (PA10) ; 2.0 L List of Isuzu engines#G200; G200 I4 OHV (PA10) ; Diesel engine; diesel: ; 1999 cc List of Isuzu
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Assembly: Japan: Fujisawa, Kanagawa (Fujisawa Plant)
Manufacturer: Isuzu