Concept Car of the Week: Isuzu 4200R (1989)

In the eighties, General Motors-owned Isuzu was fairly successful, but it was suffering from a ‘plain' brand image. To gain recognition, it presented a series of concept cars such as the COA, COA III and Costa but the most effective was the stunning 4200R.

Presented at the 1989 Tokyo motor show, the 4200R's graceful proportions and curvy volumes were highly acclaimed by the public and the press.

Shiro Nakamura led the design department from a new design studio in Birmingham, England, bringing with him designers who already had ties with Lotus – another brand under GM ownership – in order to develop a new brand partnership.

An interesting group of designers gathered at the Isuzu studio: Simon Cox, Julian Thomson, Peter Stevens, and Peter Horbury, all men who would become influential figures in the automotive design world. With this amount of talent at its disposal, the team had to deliver.

With a raked windscreen and bonnet and a long rear overhang, the 4200R looks very powerful and fast without being aggressive or over-designed like many contemporary sports cars. The cab-forward proportions were typical of that era, as were the organic volumes and neat graphics.

Despite the sporty character of the car, it has four doors and no B-pillars while the two rear doors slide slightly rearwards to improve accessibility. The tail is very elegant with a wide, dark horizontal stripe for the tail lamps, wearing both the Isuzu and the Lotus badges.

There wasn't too much space inside, with the 4200R being designed for only two adults and two children. Hundreds of buttons covered the instrument panel controlling satellite navigation, a video deck and even a fax machine.

It was powered by a mid-mounted 4.2-liter V8 delivering 350bhp matching that of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. A five-speed gearbox and four wheel drive transmission helped get the power down while the active suspension – specially designed by Lotus – balanced control stability and ride quality.

It could have been one of the great Japanese sports cars and spoken of in the same breath as the Honda NSX, Toyota Supra or Nissan 300ZX.

In 1993, however, Isuzu decided to focus more on SUVs and commercial vehicles. It retired completely from the small passenger car market and, sadly, the 4200R project became irrelevant.

Length 4,630mm
Width 1,910mm
Height 1,348mm
Wheelbase 2,629mm
Engine 4200cc V8, DOHC 32 valves
Power 350bhp

Your author, Flavien Dachet is a UK-based, French-born car designer. You may know him as the purveyor of KarzNshit, a photo blog that if isn't already in your bookmarks, certainly should be.

By Flavien Dachet