and now for something completely different..

A 1988 Isuzu Piazza Nero Irmscher.

yep, a bloody Isuzu Piazza.

known in Australia as a Holden Piazza... a car i can safely say i have never, ever, ever, seen in person. what a shame.
was a red Holden Piazza for sale a while back for not a whole lot of money. other than a little pain in finding Piazza-specific parts, you can guarantee you'll never see another one in traffic!

 Interestingly, the car is something really different, with a heap of interesting details all over.
somewhat awkward looking, with the long bonnet/hood and cabin sitting well back. like an odd 80's 4seater Jaguar E-type..!
love the recessed individual headlights though.

I really don't know much about these cars, but you can see here its a Turbo SOHC 4cyl. In this case its a 2ltr. The Piazza was available in turbo and non-turbo, and always driving the rear wheels.
Like everything in that period, its not overly powerful by today's standards; but more than enough to get it moving!

 

 

Despite the always slightly disappointing automatic trans, this one is beautifully original inside.
Loving the switchgear around the steering-wheel, and that awkward vent to the upper-right of the wheel! I like the slatted detail between the vents on the dashboard too, and the padded upper doorcards continuing all the way up to the glass.
Can also see the solid-headrest Recaro LX-B's, and a 4-spoke Momo wheel. The bucketed rear seats look great with the matching Recaro trim. The same seat/trim and wheel was available in other period Isuzu's from memory.

One last shot. looking handsome in dark-blue, wearing some period SSR/Watanabe RS-8 knockoff Black Racing's.

This particular car is for sale in Japan at a dealer for practically nothing (something like 100,000yen). hopefully someone buys it and keeps it going. its made it 24years already, and it would be a shame to lose another one off the worlds roads.