If what you’re looking for is an ultra-rare fourbie with concept car-esque styling, make sure you look here. Garage Kept Motors out of Grand Rapids, Michigan is offering this incredible 2001 Isuzu VehiCROSS S for sale at a cost of just $13,900. One of only 120 made in Foxfire Red Mica, it’s as rare as they come, and it’s fun to boot. It’s looking for a loving new home, so we hope you’ll consider making it a part of your collection.
The Model.
Outside of the Isuzu Impulse, which was cool in its own right, Isuzu was known as an SUV specialist, producing the vaunted Trooper and Rodeo in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Lesser known, but equally as cool, was Isuzu’s VehiCROSS, sold in the United States during an ultra-short run from 1999 to 2001.
It was a compact, sporty 2-door crossover SUV before crossover SUVs were even a thing. It had aggressive styling, short overhangs, a forward stance, a black hood insert, a grille that looked like fangs, and a buttload of black plastic cladding over the entire lower half of the vehicle (side note, an excellent feature for offroading durability). The VehiCROSS added to its sportiness with a 3.5 L V6 engine borrowed from the aforementioned Trooper, which made a respectable 215 horsepower (5400 rpm) and 230 lb ft of torque (3000 rpm).
Sporty, sure, but was it capable off-road? Yup. The VehiCROSS featured the Torque on Demand (TOD) 4-wheel-drive system produced by BorgWarner combining a computer-controlled AWD system for on-road driving and a low-gear 4WD system for off-road driving. It included 12 independent sensors for detecting wheel spin and redirecting power to the wheels with the most traction. Add that to its body-on-frame truck construction and beefy suspension and you could wheel this little thing.
As we mentioned at the outset, the VehiCROSS was produced for only three years. In those three years, they only cranked out 4,153 of these things. Why was it so rare, you ask?
It turns out, it was all about the manufacturing process Isuzu employed to produce this little beast. To save cost, they developed ceramic stamping dies in order to make the VehiCROSS body pieces as opposed to the normal cast iron ones. These cost between $500,000 and $750,000 to make, as opposed to around $1,500,000, and can be made in about a quarter of the time. With 20-30 dies being needed to create a model, the savings was significant. The downside to this production method was a big one. Ceramic dies wear out FAST. In this case, after 3 model years of production. Pour one out for the VehiCROSS.
The Specs.
This bone stock stunner of a VehiCROSS S has been driven 139,280 miles, and is in great condition, right down to the Foxfire Red Mica paint, which shows very well for a 20 year-old truck. Close examination of the photos provided by the seller do show some slight wear and tear in the form of light cracking on the front seats, but outside of that, this is one clean rig. Here are some additional details:
MECHANICAL:
- 3.5L V6
- Torque-On-Demand (TOD) full-time automatic 4WD system
- 4-speed automatic transmission
- Double wishbone
- Torsion bars
- Aluminum monotube shocks with external reservoirs
- Anti roll bar/four-link
- Coil springs
- Vented disc brakes w/ABS
INTERIOR:
- Black & gray leather Recaro seats
- 50/50 split-folding seat
- AM/FM in-dash stereo w/CD
- Single zone front climate control
- 1-touch power windows
- Heated power mirrors
BODY & EXTERIOR:
- Foxfire Red Mica paint
- Chrome 18” wheels
- Fog lamps
- Plastic body cladding
