Photo: Theophilus Chin
The overwhelming success of SUVs seems to spread over on their more utilitarian relatives, the pickups with brands such as Renault or even Mercedes-Benz offering this type of vehicles for the first time in the brand's recent history.
Other companies are rumored to be considering the same possibility with Citroen and Peugeot being two of them, and let's not forget that it wasn't so long ago when Volkswagen did not have the Amarok. So, yeah, the pickups are riding the wave right now, and it will be interesting to see where this will lead.
It has already brought us the world's first 'true' premium pickup in the shape of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, the concept car unveiled by the German brand in Stockholm yesterday. Does that mean we'll get to see similar moves from the brand's usual competitors shortly?
Very much unlikely. While Mercedes-Benz has a vast range of commercial vehicles which will facilitate the introduction of a pickup truck, both BMW and Audi don't have this (ahem) luxury. So the X-Class will be alone, at least for a while, in this tightest of niches that is the premium pickup segment.
But Audi and BMW are not the sole companies dueling with Daimler's automobile division. There are the Japanese brands of Lexus and Infiniti as well, and let's not forget about Land Rover either. The Brits are on a high as well after registering quite a success with their new models, including the Discovery Sport or the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
The latest SUV to come from Land Rover, however, is their bread and butter model: the Discovery. Still to make its commercial debut, the Discovery already presents itself as a very attractive option in the segment due to its light aluminum frame, good build quality, and famous off-road abilities.
None of these traits, except maybe the off-road part, recommend it for a pickup conversion, but that didn't stop digital image manipulator Theophilus Chin from having a go. The overall shape looks right, but you get the feeling he became a little bored with the rear and simply copy/pasted it from an existing pickup.
The chances of this happening are non-existent, but it's fun to flex your imagination muscles now and then. Which is why we can't understand how come nobody made a BMW X5 or Audi Q7 pickup already. That should be hilarious.
It has already brought us the world's first 'true' premium pickup in the shape of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, the concept car unveiled by the German brand in Stockholm yesterday. Does that mean we'll get to see similar moves from the brand's usual competitors shortly?
Very much unlikely. While Mercedes-Benz has a vast range of commercial vehicles which will facilitate the introduction of a pickup truck, both BMW and Audi don't have this (ahem) luxury. So the X-Class will be alone, at least for a while, in this tightest of niches that is the premium pickup segment.
But Audi and BMW are not the sole companies dueling with Daimler's automobile division. There are the Japanese brands of Lexus and Infiniti as well, and let's not forget about Land Rover either. The Brits are on a high as well after registering quite a success with their new models, including the Discovery Sport or the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
The latest SUV to come from Land Rover, however, is their bread and butter model: the Discovery. Still to make its commercial debut, the Discovery already presents itself as a very attractive option in the segment due to its light aluminum frame, good build quality, and famous off-road abilities.
None of these traits, except maybe the off-road part, recommend it for a pickup conversion, but that didn't stop digital image manipulator Theophilus Chin from having a go. The overall shape looks right, but you get the feeling he became a little bored with the rear and simply copy/pasted it from an existing pickup.
The chances of this happening are non-existent, but it's fun to flex your imagination muscles now and then. Which is why we can't understand how come nobody made a BMW X5 or Audi Q7 pickup already. That should be hilarious.
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