Swamp monster - Isuzu D-Max Concept X!

By Colin Windell

The Australian auto industry may have undergone some pretty tough times over the past few years but there is no denying the auto-enthusiasm of the public – currently flocking to the National 4x4 Outdoors Show in Melbourne to see the Isuzu D-Max Concept X.

This monster truck towers over other super ‘bakkies’ such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and HSV Colorado SportsCat but is not scheduled as a production model, just yet.

The D-Max Concept X is a demonstration to show what the brand’s light commercial vehicle is capable of once it is modified wildly and fitted with massive 38-inch mud terrain tyres and the suspension is given a seven-inch lift.

Standing two metres tall, it would defeat the shopping centre off-roaders because it would not fit into a parking garage – and it would probably not get the nod on public roads as is too wide to fit into a lane and at

5,5-metres long it would be a handful to manoeuvre.

However, its design theme is said to be a pointer to a Toyota Hilux Rugged-X style of tough off-road accessories that may become available down the track for the Isuzu D-Max.

The beast — paired with a high riding version of the Isuzu M-UX family seven-seater four-wheel-drive — was unveiled at the National 4x4 Outdoors Show in Melbourne recently, the brainchild of the Isuzu D-Max precision driving team.

“We saw a set of gigantic tyres on the Toyo stand one day and our boss joked about putting them on his company car,” says lead driver Jack Monkhouse.

Wayne Boatwright, Team D-MAX director said the project then “got a bit out of control”.

“We didn’t set out to build a racer or pre-runner or rock crawler,” says Boatwright. “It would have been easy to bolt on many accessories but we wanted to go our own way. Most of the build (including) the guards, bull bars, bonnet, brakes, suspension and chassis modifications are all in-house custom work.”

The Isuzu concept vehicles will appear at country shows around Australia over the next 12 months.