Forget Porsche 911s, we need more restomods like this excellent Isuzu 'Dragon Max'

Is this the most unlikely restomod of all time? Isuzu has combined Thailand's tuner culture and its love of pickup trucks to create this gloriously modernised version of its third-gen TFR Space Cab. And we agree, it's cool as hell.

Built for the Bangkok International Motor Show and dubbed the ‘Dragon Max’ - a reference to the original car’s ‘Dragon’ nickname for its release in 1988, the Chinese Year of the Dragon - the one-off concept gets a 2.2-litre turbodiesel inline-four, sending 217bhp and 406lb ft of torque to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. That’s quite a bit more than a present-day D-Max.

Looks quite a bit cooler too, doesn't it? The boxy shape has been left untouched, but it's augmented with new LED light signatures and fresh animations. The wing mirrors are different, and there’s a small rear wing at the back to signal its sporty intent. It’s also slammed and rides on five-spoke 17in alloys.

The cabin gets a strong makeover too. Some of the original switchgear remains, but there’s bucket loads of Alcantara, a tablet for your infotainment and even bits of carbon fibre dotted along the dash. The digitalised driver’s display also gets fancy dials and a laptime readout. Heck, is this Isuzu trying to say that it wants in on Stig Laps?