Team Isuzu D-MAX Concept X revealed

THE curtains have dropped on Team D-Max’s hotly anticipated Concept X; bigger, badder, pumped-up versions of the venerable D-Max and MU-X.

The two steroid-fed, supersized Isuzus you’re ogling right now are the work of EMG Pty Ltd and Team D-Max – the crew famous for its precision-driving party tricks.

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“It was the tyres that got the project started,” explained Jack Monkhouse, Team D-MAX’s lead driver. “We saw a set of gigantic tyres on the Toyo Tires stand and our boss, Wayne [Boatwright], joked about putting them on his company car.”

The tyres in question are 38-inch Toyo Open Country muddies (38x15.5R20s). To make these massive tyres – wrapped around Method MR610 Con6 20x12-inch wheels – fit beneath both the D-MAX and MU-X, plenty of custom-fabrication work ensued.

“It would have been easy to bolt on many accessories, but we wanted to go our own way,” explained Wayne Boatwright, Director of EMG Pty Ltd and Team D-MAX. “So most of the build – the guards, bullbars, bonnet, brakes, suspension and chassis modifications – are all in-house custom work.”

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In tandem with the monster muddies, both vehicles copped custom 60mm remote reservoir shocks and a seven-inch suspension lift, with the D-MAX’s rear leaf set-up replaced with a custom MU-X-style five-link coil arrangement.

The bespoke suspension work provides the D-MAX with 370mm of ground clearance, a 49.7° approach angle and a 38.5° departure angle; while the MU-X gets 370mm of ground clearance, a 49.7° approach angle and a 37.3° departure angle.

Stopping power is afforded courtesy of custom TBS Racing six-piston calipers with 390mm full-floating discs (front) and custom TBS Racing four-piston calipers with 355mm full-floating discs (rear).

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In addition to the custom fabrication work applied to the steel fenders, bonnet, alloy bullbar and alloy rear bar, both vehicles have had 10,000lb WARN Zeon 10-S Platinum winches plonked both fore and aft.

“The Concept X duo is a bit on the wild side – they’re a bit like the evil cousins of the family,” Boatwright added.

Isuzu’s 4JJ1 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel – 130kW/430Nm – remains unchanged, and both vehicles get the six-gear automatic cog-swapper. Interior fit-out of both rigs mirrors the premium styling of the LS-T.

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The Concept-X vehicles were revealed at the 2018 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo, held at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

You won’t see them in showrooms, but they’ll be part of the Team D-MAX repertoire as they tour the country over the following year. Or, you’ve got until Sunday, August 19, to catch the monster rigs at the Melbourne Showgrounds.