Isuzu Bellel

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 (40 kW) 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...