Suntory began brewing beer in 1963 and the bottles weren’t going to deliver themselves. There weren’t a ton of options available at the time. A Nissan 410/411 Bluebird had only a 1.2-liter engine, and the full-size 1.9-liter Cedric was too big and fancy. Same went for the Toyota Crown, the tiny Publica would have been impractical, and the Corona/Tiara managed to squeeze only 48ps out of its 1.5. Honda had barely begun making its first cars.
Suntory apparently turned to Isuzu, often forgotten today but once a booming automaker. The Bellett was far more substantial than the Nissan and Toyota compacts and its 1.5-liter made a whopping 63ps. Incidentally, the Bellett Express delivery van, though resembling a Bellett sedan in the front, boasted an entirely different frame design and was built in a completely different factory. And since the Bellett was introduced in 1963, perhaps Suntory felt some kinship with Isuzu as it launched its new beverage.
Awesome…Kampai! “…turned to Isuzu, often forgotten today but once a booming automaker.” Ouch! My favorite “colab” in recent years was the 7-11 delivery, one seat Toyota COMS. That & the Honda Gyro Canopy’s are awesome.