The other day we did a feature on the Isuzu 117 Coupe and we concluded the article with a short mention of its replacement, the Piazza. That got us to thinking about the Piazza and now that we have 20yrs worth of hindsight, I think it’s about time we examined the oft-scorned coupe.

In Australia the image of the Piazza is unambiguous: it’s a lemon. But did fate play the attractive Italian-styled coupe a bad hand? Was it really such a bad car? We at GrandJDM are willing to fire up our trusty time machine to find out!

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One of the more fondly remembered classic cars in Japan today is the Isuzu 117 Coupe. An FR design, it debuted in Japan as an Italian-designed, DOHC sports coupe with an exotic pricetag to match.

A JDM car with an extraordinarily long production run (1968~1981), its swoopy European looks have ensured that the 117 still has widespread classic car appeal, long after Isuzu stopped producing cars.

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What a way to close out the week.  If your Sabbath includes some nice outdoor grilling, check this out.  Our forum member Brett, who goes by the handle 1600GT, has created the coolest, if not the only, Isuzu Bellet-based barbecue grill in the universe. In fact, we think it’s safe to say this is the coolest grill, period. The owner of three Isuzu Bellets, including a race car and a Wasp flatbed ute, Brett had a few extra parts lying around after the restoration of his 1600GT, and put them to good use by bringing aestheticism and elegance to what would otherwise be a row of hot metal bars. Not only is it pleasing to the eye, but any Kobe beef steaks to come out of this Bellet boot are sure to be extra tasty. Check out Brett’s Bellets here.