230 HP Isuzu D-Max Safety Car debuts at the 2015 Thailand Motor Expo with a raft of aftermarket modifications and a highly powerful engine
Isuzu D-Max Safety Car made its debut appearance at the 2015 Thailand Motor Expo and although one might wonder why it’s christened as Safety Car rather than a “Safety Truck”. Its striking appeal, sporty bodykit and enormous twin-blade rear wing drive us towards the notion that the D-Max Safety Car is nothing more than an one-off Motor Show eye-catcher.
The sporty aero bodykit extensively altered front and rear bumpers for a sturdy front and rear end. It has side skirts to channel the undisturbed air to the Touring cars-styled rear diffuser and a huge twin-blade rear wing that has an inclined end plate. Well, Isuzu may never put them on road anyway so these aftermarket sticker wraps and mods are just a visual treat for expo-goers.
To stand by its Safety Car label, an LED emergency light bar is installed on roof top whilst the Hot Bits suspension makes for revised setup and a low ride height and the 18-inch alloy wheels are fitted on Toyo Proxes T1R 275/35R18 tyres.
The Isuzu D-Max Safety Car is powered by a tuned version of the all-new 1.9-litre Ddi Blue Power turbodiesel engine which boosts the horsepower from standard output of 150hp to 230hp and a suspected peak torque figure of around 350Nm. However, the most interesting aspect of the super truck is that it’s based on the facelifted D-Max extended cab also seen at the Bangkok show.
The extended D-Max cab in Hi-Lander guise bears minor differentiation on the outside but under the hood it’s propelled by an all-new 1.9 litre Ddi Blue Power turbodiesel engine that replaces the 2.5 litre diesel mill and a new six-speed automatic or a new six-speed manual gearbox. The new engine is 20% lighter and produces similar horsepower as the outgoing engine with 150hp at 3,600rpm and 350Nm of torque between 1,800 and 2,600rpm.
The Indian version of D-Max single cab flat deck is currently actuated by 2.5-litre four-cylinder, Common Rail, Turbo-Charged Intercooled Diesel Engine that makes maximum power of 136PS and 294Nm of torque paired to a six-speed manual transmission.
The Tokyo-based manufacturer is more likely to launch crew cabs at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo assembled from its dedicated manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. With less products waiting in its car segment pipeline, Isuzu sees major potential in extended commercial cabs for India market.
Image Source: Paultan
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