NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 11 – On the third anniversary of his historic Ineos 1:59 challenge, vehicle manufacturer Isuzu have unveiled a limited edition Isuzu D-Max model, christened the ‘1:59 Special’ to celebrate Eliud Kipchoge’s historic sub-two hour marathon achievement three years ago on the streets of Vienna.
Kipchoge became the first man to ever complete a marathon under two hours in a specialised race organized by British multinational chemicals company Ineos. He clocked 1:59:40 to achieve the target.
The vehicle will be on sale tentatively from next year, with Kipchoge given the honor to own the first of it. There will only be 159 of them available in the market.
“This partnership will cement a five year old partnership and open new exciting, meaningful ways to engage our customers. This is to honour Eliud in a great way for what he achieved with the Ineos 1:59 run,” said Rita Kavashe, the Isuzu East Africa General Manager.
She added; “Part of the proceeds will go towards the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, which plays a role in promoting and nurturing young talent especially in Kaptagat, where Kipchoge trains.
According to Kavashe, the car’s features will be custom made to the values that makes Kipchoge a success, and fans and customers will also be given a chance to give their thoughts and contributions on social media before the final design is out.
“Isuzu is my third leg. They are part of my systems that have helped me walk this journey. Isuzu as a sponsor is one of my teammates to help me towards success. The other corporate world should follow what Isuzu is doing to promote sports. Sport is life,” Kipchoge said.
He added; “It is a motivation for me to actually have a car with my name on it.”
“They have been with me and I want to thank them for their support and you can see what has happened for the last five years,” he added.
Kavashe has meanwhile said that since they started their partnership with Kipchoge five years ago, the profile of their company has been on the rise.
“Since we started the partnership, our share of the D-Max has grown to 50pc and that of the double cab has risen to 30pc. This actually goes a long way to show that such partnerships have an impact,” Kavashe said.
