Giorgetto Giugiaro left Bertone for Ghia at the end of 1965, and by March of 1966 one of his first Ghia designs was on the stand at Geneva. It was the #Isuzu117, a clean, glassy coupe from a brand few at Geneva had ever heard of. Isuzu was a tiny make, and despite a lengthy history, it had only built its first home-grown car in 1961, though it built licensed Hillmans from 1953-62. Unknown label or no, the 117 got a warm reception at Geneva, leading to a more production-ready version for the Tokyo show in October. The public loved it, and the 117 was built from 1968 to 1981. - Originally, 117 was just the internal name of the forthcoming mid-size (for Japan) sedan platform that Isuzu was working on for 1967. That car emerged late that year as the Florian sedan, which also had some Ghia input. It was a fertile period for Giugiaro, which was no doubt helpful to struggling Ghia (then owned by Dominican ex-dictator Ramfis Trujillo). The 117 was cut from the same cloth as other period designs of his - the Fiat Dino Coupe and Mazda Luce (done at Bertone), and the Fiat Vanessa and De Tomaso Pampero (concepts at Ghia). - The 117 was so popular that Isuzu put it into limited production for 1968. Mostly handmade, it was produced in small numbers and sold only at home - quickly becoming a very desirable but rarely seen car. The rear-drive architecture and G-series I4s were shared with the Florian, but often it used DOHC versions of the G and sometimes had Bosch fuel injection. Inside, the 117 was much more richly appointed than the Florian. Isuzu’s car output was tiny, and it wasn’t until GM took a stake in 1971 that Isuzu gained scale. GM’s investment made a volume-built 117 possible; which happened in early 1973 - bringing cheaper spec versions, too. The price came down and sales soared - but it remained mainly a JDM exclusive. - Isuzu was content to not change a great looking car too much - and treated it to only one facelift, a modest update to rectangular sealed-beam lights in the fall of 1977. This 135-hp 1978 XE represented the top-of-the-line 117 until the end of production, though in 1979 a rare diesel was added, one of the very first diesel-powered sporty cars. (at SODO-Moto) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2PDOVolTBb/?igshid=wa8qnyj2d3vt