The Isuzu Como F1 Super Truck Was a Pickup With an F1 Engine

The Como F1 Super Truck is one of the most outrageous concept cars we can remember. And it was a special one-off that we will probably never see again. When Isuzu was most famous for some rather dull vehicles, the Super Truck showed they could create something quite exciting.

What led to the Isuzu Super Truck concept

Isuzu was famous for some quirky concept cars. Remember the VehiCross SUV? That was one wild SUV that would actually enter production. The Super Truck was born out of the planned Formula 1 venture for the Isuzu company. The company had secretly developed a 3.5-liter DOHC V12 engine. This produced 640 hp at 12,500 rpm. Codenamed P799WE, it was indeed an F1 spec engine. And as luck would have it, Team Lotus was looking for an engine supplier for the 1992 season. So it was sent to Lotus, who would test the car at Silverstone in 1991.

Footage of this test is on YouTube, but the partnership never progressed. Japan's economy suffered problems in the early 1990s, and Isuzu was hurt badly, and they pulled the plug on the Lotus partnership, which was a big shame, as the engine had shown a lot of promise molded with the 102C chassis. Isuzu then had a big V12 that was going to waste. So they decided the best way to show it off was to shoehorn it into a road car. Specifically, though, Isuzu thought a pickup truck was the best place to put the engine.

What the Isuzu Super Truck was all about

The truck itself was designed by Simon Coz, a man who would go on to create the equally insane Cadillac Cien. The Como F1 Super Truck, as it would become known, was more of a Ute, as Isuzu had clearly had a lapse in sanity. Scissor doors were not a standard pickup truck feature, but they were on the Como Super Truck. That remarkable P799WE V12 was mid-mounted, and it turned out it would have more power than the McLaren F1. A model that is still the world's fastest naturally-aspirated supercar. Sadly for us, there are no official speed figures.

We can't imagine that it would be slow, though. The overall impression is that the truck was just as rapid as you would expect it to be. The total power output of the truck was now 740 hp, and Isuzu would go on to develop it for a couple of years, with the potential of putting it into production. Or, at least, something like the Como F1 Super Truck. Remarkably, the truck had a four-seat cabin and luggage space. So it was also a somewhat practical truck too, and more than just a gimmick.

The Isuzu Como F1 never entered production

As we all know, the F1 Super Truck would never enter production. Isuzu soon worked out that it simply wouldn't be economically viable. Especially given the economic problems that Japan as a whole had been facing. Plus, an F1 V12-powered pickup truck might be a hard sell and certainly expensive to develop further. What the truck did show, though, was that Isuzu had a lot of potential. More than it ever gets credit for, as it is often seen as one of the more boring of automotive manufacturers.

That isn't without good reason, either. Isuzu usually produces quite tame but practical vehicles. And there is nothing wrong with that at all. We need cars like that for pretty much every day in life. But the Como F1 was a sign that Isuzu could make something truly incredible. Had they developed it further, who knows what might have happened?

The Super Truck is a truly outrageous concept

It is quite unlikely we will ever see Isuzu produce something so wild again. The Como F1 Super Truck showcases the very best of Isuzu's engineering prowess and how creative the minds within the company could truly be. The fact that this was a mid-engine pickup truck was already remarkable. Then you add that it has a V12 engine and one that ran, briefly, in a Lotus Formula 1 car. As ridiculous as the truck is and as bonkers as it will remain, we sort of wish the project had gone further. Who knows what the Como F1 Super Truck might have spawned a few years down the line for Isuzu?