You are Eliud Kipchoge. In your honour, Isuzu Kenya launches 159 limited edition D-Maxes. You get the very last limited edition vehicle bearing your name, bringing to an end a project that began back in 2022. A fitting way to close the chapter, right?
Isuzu D-Max Kipchoge Edition
The story of the Kipchoge D-Max goes back to October 2022. At the time, Isuzu East Africa announced plans to build a special edition of its popular D-Max pickup in honour of Kipchoge’s historic achievement in Vienna. As we reported here on Space Ya Magari in our article “Isuzu Unveils New Limited Edition D-Max,” Isuzu planned to produce just 159 units of the special edition. The number was not picked at random.
It was a nod to Kipchoge’s extraordinary 1:59:40.2 run during the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in October 2019, when he became the first person to run a marathon distance in under two hours in a controlled event.
Three years later, that number had found its way onto 159 pickup trucks.
The Production
The idea became reality in May 2023 when Isuzu officially unveiled the limited-edition pickups.
Space Ya Magari covered that milestone in our second story, “Isuzu Officially Unveils 159 D-Max,” as the first of the numbered vehicles began making their way to customers. Each D-Max carried a number between 001 and 159, making every vehicle part of a very specific production run.
It was a clever way of taking a familiar pickup and giving it a story. After all, this was still a D-Max underneath. But it was a D-Max with a number, a name and a connection to one of Kenya’s most celebrated sporting achievements.
And now, the final number has been accounted for.
Isuzu DMax Kipchoge Edition – What Made it Different?
Based on the D-Max double-cab, the Kipchoge Edition edition was given a number of cosmetic and equipment upgrades to distinguish it from the standard pickup. The special edition wears a distinctive Desert Orange exterior, complemented by black detailing, special badging and Kipchoge-inspired graphics.
There is also plenty happening beneath the skin (read hood). Power comes from Isuzu’s 3.0-litre 4JJ3-TCX turbo-diesel engine, producing 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque. The engine is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. For a pickup that is still expected to do pickup things, the numbers matter. That 450 Nm of torque gives the D-Max the kind of low-end pulling power that makes sense for everything from carrying loads to tackling rough Kenyan roads.
The Kipchoge Edition also comes with a range of driver-assistance and safety features, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assistance, rear cross-traffic alert and seven airbags.
It is therefore not simply a D-Max with a different paint job.
The vehicle itself was a spectacle. Additionally, there is another interesting aspect that arose from it after the vehicles left the assembly line. Isuzu created the Kipchoge 1:59 Club, bringing owners of the limited-edition D-Maxes together under the same badge.That gave the vehicles something that many limited-edition cars don’t necessarily have: a community.
Owners were not just buying a numbered pickup. They were buying into a story. In this case, a manufacturer took a Kenyan sporting achievement and turned it into a locally assembled vehicle. There is something uniquely Kenyan about that.
The Kipchoge D-Max is also worth remembering because it was assembled locally in Kenya. That part of the story sometimes gets lost behind the Kipchoge name. The project demonstrated what can happen when local vehicle assembly, a global automotive brand and a distinctly Kenyan identity come together.
It also arrived at an interesting time for Kenya’s motor industry, with renewed conversations around local assembly, manufacturing and the country’s dependence on imported used vehicles. The D-Max has long had a strong presence in Kenya, particularly among businesses, farmers, contractors and fleet operators having evolved from the Isuzu KB 20 and the Isuzu Tougher. Turning it into a limited-edition lifestyle product showed that there was room for something different as well.
End of Production
And so we arrive at number 159, drawing a close to one of the unique campaigns witnessed in Kenya. The first Kipchoge Edition D-Max represented the beginning of the project. The last one represents its completion. He was the reason the number 159 existed in the first place. Now he owns the last D-Max carrying it.
Looking back, the Kipchoge 1:59 D-Max was never really just about selling 159 pickups. It was about taking a moment in Kenyan sporting history and putting it on four wheels. From Isuzu’s original announcement in 2022, to the official unveiling in 2023, to the delivery of the final unit, the story has taken more than three years to complete. And now it is done.
159 D-Maxes. One 1:59:40. And, fittingly, the final one belongs to Eliud Kipchoge.
Young Lawyer with a passion for vehicles.
Upcoming Motor Journalist.
L'écriture est ma passion.
Nissan Patrol Y 62 is the goal.
www.karimi.co.ke
karimi@spaceyamagari.com
