Weird Yellow Things: 2000 Isuzu VehiCROSS vs 1993 Banham X99

Sbsd 4 3 2024
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Good morning, and welcome to another fun-filled Shitbox Showdown! Got some really special stuff for you today, and I hope you like the color yellow, because you’re going to see a lot of it. One of these cars you’ve probably heard of but haven’t seen for sale in quite a while; the other you probably haven’t, but if you’re a longtime reader, you know the place selling it.

But before we get to that, let’s check out yesterday’s results, although we probably don’t need to. A Buick Roadmaster, especially a wagon, especially a later model with the LT1, is just going to win. Doesn’t really matter what it’s up against.

But is that really true? That’s something to keep in mind for future Showdowns – Roadmasters always win, but so do Saabs. And Honda Civics. I should try to find some of these perennial winners and pit them against each other, and see what you do with them.

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For today, however, we have other, weirder fish to fry, in the form of a limited-production Isuzu SUV with a face only a nurse shark could love, and a bizarre little kit car based on an old British econobox. Lots to talk about with these two; let’s dive right in.

2000 Isuzu VehiCROSS – $2,200

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Engine/drivetrain: 3.5 liter dual overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, AWD

Location: San Fernando, CA

Odometer reading: 204,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives but cuts out randomly

Isuzu had a good long run of really cool SUVs: the Trooper in all its generations, the Rodeo and Amigo, the Axiom, and this weirdo, known as the VehiCROSS. It features a quad-cam V6, all-wheel-drive, and love-it-or-hate-it styling. Personally, I’m not a fan, but I’m glad it exists. We need more oddball car designs. Isuzu used ceramic stamping dies to build the VehiCROSS – they’re cheap to make, but don’t last very long, perfect for short production runs. Fewer than 6,000 VehiCROSSes were built.

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Mechanically, it’s a parts-bin special, stealing drivetrain and chassis components from the Trooper. It’s a body-on-frame truck, with a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system that apparently works very well off-road. The short wheelbase and minimal overhangs help as well. This one is a mixed bag condition-wise; it runs well, and the air conditioning even works, but it cuts out randomly. The seller isn’t specific about whether it just cuts out for a second, or conks out and has to be restarted.

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It’s generally in good condition cosmetically. The leather seats have some wear and tear, but that’s to be expected north of 200,000 miles. Outside, the clearcoat is peeling, but it’s straight and rust-free.

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Whatever you think of these things, because of its rarity, it’s bound to be a collector’s item eventually. And this is about the cheapest one I’ve ever seen for sale. The stalling/cutting out problem can’t be that hard to fix, and the commonality with Trooper parts should make it easy to find what you need.

1993 Banham X99 – $2,500

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Engine/drivetrain: 1.4 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed manual, FWD

Location: Nashville, TN

Odometer reading: 34,000 miles

Operational status: Doesn’t run, and needs suspension work

Banham Conversions was a British company that made kit cars for many years. Banham’s cars included Porsche replicas based on rear-engine Skodas, an Austin-Healey Sprite replica based on the Austin Metro, a front-wheel-drive Ford RS200 replica based on an Austin Maestro, and this car, the X99, which was based on a later Rover Metro and is absolutely in no way a replica of an Audi TT. Or at least, that’s what Banham said, before Volkswagen AG took them to court over the resemblance. How does such an odd little British kit car find its way to Nashville? It’s part of the Lane Motor Museum‘s collection.

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The Metro used to build this X99 was apparently a GTi model, owing to the twincam K-series engine under the hood. This engine puts out right around 100 horsepower to the front wheels, which must move this little car right along – I imagine it weighs less than a stock Metro GTi. The listed 1993 model year confuses me a little, because Banham didn’t start selling the X99 kit until 1999. My guess is 1993 is the model year of the donor Metro.

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This car doesn’t run at the moment, and the funky Hydragas suspension needs some work. Rover Metro parts are thin on the ground here, but I’m sure everything you could possibly need to fix up this car is just an internet search away.

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Luckily, the body and interior appear to be in good shape. And yeah, it looks quite a lot like an Audi TT, but I bet if you parked them side-by-side, you would have no trouble telling them apart. I’m a little surprised that the Lane is letting this go, and for so cheap, frankly. It looks like a great little project for the right person. Hell, if the timing were different, that person might be me.

Both of these need some love, but I think they both deserve it. The price of admission is fair enough on both, and neither one should be too difficult to deal with. And either one would turn heads at a car gathering, especially with the screaming yellow paint. So which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist seller and Lane Motor Museum)

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86 thoughts on “Weird Yellow Things: 2000 Isuzu VehiCROSS vs 1993 Banham X99

  1. I’m glad the VehiCROSS isn’t closer or I’d actually consider it. I’m not always a fan of ugly cars, but I find this “so ugly it’s cool”. Honestly, I’d rather have a 2-door Rodeo, and I probably couldn’t get this running well anyway, but the Isuzu is a decent deal. The Banham looks like the worst of kit cars, which would be forgivable if it were a ’70s VW-Ferrari but not a fake Audi. Those headlights & interior are atrocious!

  2. I’m going to rant a bit. I apologize in advance to kit car fans, but I hate them.

    Kit car styling never looks right. They always look like distorted, funhouse mirror versions of cars they are trying to imitate. The x99 was clearly trying to steal styling cues from the TT, but they didn’t steal enough to create a nice-looking product. This turd looks like a shrunken, poorly proportioned TT with the hood of a ’90s pickup truck. This car is worse looking than the poor Rover Metro that was desecrated to create it, which is impressive since the Rover Metro is an utterly unspectacular vehicle.

    Kit cars also usually have poorly designed interiors, and the X99 is no exception. The interior looks vaguely industrial, but not in a tasteful way or even a way that appears intentional. The interior of this car appears to be an afterthought. The switchgear looks cheap and poorly arranged. Interior materials look like they were purchased from the clearance bin at Walmart. It doesn’t look like a pleasant place to spend any time.

    Taste in cars is subjective, but I honestly wonder why anyone would want any kit car, much less a terrible kit car like this one. I hate this car. This might be the worst contender to ever appear on shitbox showdown.

      1. It is incredible that it is basically a project car after only 34k miles. Shittiness isn’t skin deep with this car.

        The only impressive thing about the x99 is that it makes a wretched lump of automotive ennui like the Metro seem appealing by comparison.

        This car is making me sad.

    1. What’s funny is I would say the VehiCROSS is the worst vehicle ever on Showdown…I consider it one of the ugliest vehicles ever made. I hate it. I would vote for anything else no matter how rusty/broken.
      I actually really do think the Banham looks like a lot of fun
      (Like you said, taste is subjective)

  3. Hydragas suspensions are pretty straightforward to repair, usually. I’ve owned an MG Metro and currently own an Austin Allegro and have had to work on both. These are completely passive, sealed systems, so there’s no additional complexity from onboard compressors or the like. Usually it’s just a matter of hooking up an appropriate hand pump to refill and repressurize the liquid side of the system. The biggest problem is that if one of the displacers (the devices at each wheel that act both as springs and as shocks) has suffered a loss of nitrogen and/or a ruptured diaphragm, they’re not designed to be disassembled for service. There are sources in the UK for refurbished replacement displacers, though, including displacers that have had fittings attached for repressuring the gas side of each unit.

    There are alternatives available for some of the more popular Hydragas-equpped cars such as the MGF, replacing the displacers with springs, but these replacements aren’t available for Metro or Allegro suspensions, at least as of the last time I checked.

    1. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t very tempted by the TT-thing. I

      It sounds like you’d be taking a bit of a gamble if the suspension needs work beyond just refilling and re-pressurizing the system? What are the A-series engines like to work on? I’m assuming they have semi-decent parts availability, at least in the UK.

      Also, would it be theoretically possible to just not mess with the suspension at all if you don’t mind a harsh ride?

      1. If one or more displacers needs additional work you’ll need to contact someone like these folks:

        https://hahsltd.co.uk/hydragas-service/

        or start looking around on ebay.co.uk or the like for replacements. My impression is that later Metro displacers are easier to find than earlier ones. Mine, naturally, was therefore an ’82.

        A-series engine and transmission stuff is easy to find even in the US, thanks mostly to the classic Mini crowd, but my guess is this one has a K-series engine. I don’t know what it’s like to look for parts for these but I doubt you’ll find much on this side of the Atlantic.

        As for driving around with the suspension deflated, theoretically (which is to say I’ve actually done this) it is possible as long as the wheels and tires are small enough not to rub against the fenders. The ride will be harsh and the car will oscillate surprisingly after hitting just the right bumps in the road at just the right speed. Ground clearance isn’t great, either.

        If you’re considering getting the car, I will say that someone who is willing to seek advice from a self-confessed Allegro and Metro owner is exactly the right person to buy this.

        1. Thanks for the advice! The engine worries me slightly less than the suspension does on this – I’m guessing the non-running issue is mostly down to the fuel system needing gone through.

          1. You’re quite welcome. If it’s any comfort, replacing a Hydragas displacer is easier than replacing a typical MacPherson strut, even without considering the fact that with a displacer there’s no spring to compress.

  4. I used to have a coworker who daily’d his VehiCROSS. When he left the company I was far more sad about losing the car-ogling opportunities than losing the coworker.

  5. How is this even a competition? Vehicross all the way! If nothing else, you could probably fix the mechanical issue, drive it for a bit (at that odo reading, miles are cheap), and flip it to the Radwood crowd for a decent return.

  6. As a life long Vehicross fan, it’s going to take a lot more than something that looks like a toy Audi TT you’d buy from a dollar store with a name like “Dollar Surplus” to get me to vote against one.

  7. I was born in the late 80s. The Vehicross speaks to the 90s aesthetic that dominated everything in a decade of clashing colours, exaggerated shapes, see-through electronics, and children’s toys of questionable safety.

    I’m picking the Isuzu, donning my tear-away pants and frosted tips, and cranking “We Like to Party” on the stereo.

  8. I’ve always loved the Syd Mead designed the Pontiac Aztek for an anime series” vibes of the Vehicross. I’ve been tempted many times to get a used one. It’s a shame it was never offered with a manual transmission as far as I know. But I guess for a limited production styling exercise that’s understandable.

  9. Why does the X99 even exist? That’s a lot of trouble to shittily recreate a car that’s pretty pedestrian. I understand Ferrari and Lamborgambor kit cars, but an Audi TT? Easy win for the Isuzu, how could you not like the VehiCROSS?

  10. I love me a Vehicross, especially in yellow!

    And a not running kit car based on British mechanicals with a weird suspension sounds about as fun as repeated nut punches.

  11. Just when I thought there wasn’t a vehicle with worse parts support in the US than the VehiCross, this… x99 thing swoops in to prove me wrong. at least you can get parts for Isuzu V6s in the US, but rover engines? And it doesn’t even run? YIKES

    1. The X99 really screams
      “Mom can we have Audi TT/Daihatsu Copen?”
      “We already have Audi TT/Daihatsu Copen at home.”
      The Audi TT/Daihatsu Copen at home:

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