Isuzu Bellel
Encyclopedia
The Isuzu Bellel was an intermediate car
manufactured by Isuzu Motors Ltd.
in Japan
from 1961 to 1966. It was the company's first independent design, and also Japan's first passenger car with a diesel engine
. It was available as a 4-door sedan and a 4-door station wagon
, called the Bellel Express. The name "Bellel" resulted from combining the English word "bell" with the Roman numeral
"L", equalling 50, and thus the name was supposed to represent "fifty Bells" (Isuzu literally means "fifty bells" in Japanese).
The Bellel was fitted with 1.5 L and 2.0 L gasoline OHV
engines, and also the aforementioned 55 PS 2.0 L diesel (DL201) engine. There was also a lesser 1.6 L diesel (with 52 hp) available, the DL200. All engines were mated with a four-speed manual transmission
with the shifter mounted on the steering column. The suspension setup was modeled after the Hillman Minx
, which was previously manufactured by Isuzu under a license agreement with the Rootes Group.
The original front end on the 1961 model was fitted with stacked headlamps similar to the Nissan Cedric. However, in 1962, a simple twin headlight configuration was used. Initially, the Bellels had quite original, triangular taillights, but these were dropped during a 1965 facelift
in an attempt to afford the Bellel a more formal, upscale and mainstream look. The facelift also included changes to the front fascia, where the previous single round headlights paired with smaller turn signals were replaced by quad round headlights arranged horizontally.
The diesel engine made the Bellel popular for commercial applications, such as taxicab
services. This partially helped to offset the Bellel's relative unpopularity with private customers, which resulted from the harshness of the early diesel engine and peculiar styling. A small number of these cars found their way into other countries, with left-hand drive. 37,206 Bellels were manufactured in total.
Mid-size car
A mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...
manufactured by Isuzu Motors Ltd.
Isuzu
, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 1961 to 1966. It was the company's first independent design, and also Japan's first passenger car with a diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
. It was available as a 4-door sedan and a 4-door station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
, called the Bellel Express. The name "Bellel" resulted from combining the English word "bell" with the Roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
"L", equalling 50, and thus the name was supposed to represent "fifty Bells" (Isuzu literally means "fifty bells" in Japanese).
The Bellel was fitted with 1.5 L and 2.0 L gasoline OHV
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
engines, and also the aforementioned 55 PS 2.0 L diesel (DL201) engine. There was also a lesser 1.6 L diesel (with 52 hp) available, the DL200. All engines were mated with a four-speed manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
with the shifter mounted on the steering column. The suspension setup was modeled after the Hillman Minx
Hillman Minx
The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group between 1932 and 1970...
, which was previously manufactured by Isuzu under a license agreement with the Rootes Group.
The original front end on the 1961 model was fitted with stacked headlamps similar to the Nissan Cedric. However, in 1962, a simple twin headlight configuration was used. Initially, the Bellels had quite original, triangular taillights, but these were dropped during a 1965 facelift
Facelift (product)
A facelift is the revival of a product through cosmetic means, for example by changing its appearance while leaving its underlying engineering or design intact....
in an attempt to afford the Bellel a more formal, upscale and mainstream look. The facelift also included changes to the front fascia, where the previous single round headlights paired with smaller turn signals were replaced by quad round headlights arranged horizontally.
The diesel engine made the Bellel popular for commercial applications, such as taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
services. This partially helped to offset the Bellel's relative unpopularity with private customers, which resulted from the harshness of the early diesel engine and peculiar styling. A small number of these cars found their way into other countries, with left-hand drive. 37,206 Bellels were manufactured in total.