Photo: Gabriel Catalin on Facebook
With Dacia models continuing to grow in popularity thanks to their value for money ratio, more and more people are starting to wonder about the availability of a Dacia workhorse, namely a pickup truck.
A potential answer is brought by the image below, which shows a Duster-based double cab pickup being driven around the Dacia factory in Mioveni. We reached out to Dacia, who confirmed this is currently a one-off.
Romturingia has a special relationship with the Renault Group, as the level of integration with products such as the one mentioned above is very high, making the partnership an important one for the carmaker.
Returning to the four-door Duster Pickup, the vehicle has been homologated under Romania’s one-off legislation, hence the “Probe” number plates. While the two-door version had a bed length of 1.7 meters, this prototype’s bed appears to be slightly over one meter. The reduction may be less important than it appears though since the two-door’s capacities are limited by its 450 kg payload, not the size of its bed.
While the two-door version is scheduled to be produced in a lot of 500 units, which are destined for fleet customer OMV Petrom (a local arm of an oil giant), there are no current plans to produce more examples of the four-door truck.
We expect Renault to be testing the waters here. So far, all the reactions we’ve seen were positive. Then again, most people have just seen the image of the car and appreciate the idea. This means we’ll have to wait for a potential up close and personal experience to discuss deeper aspects, such as fit and finish.
Still, it’s not like Renault is a stranger to the pickup market. For instance, they offer the Oroch model on the South American market, where 75 percent of the 920,000-unit light commercial vehicle market goes to this type of vehicle.
Make no mistake though, the Oroch is built on a larger platform compared to the Duster and will compete against models such as the Toyota Hilux.
Photo via: Gabriel Catalin on Facebook
Built by coachbuilder Romturingia
The vehicle was built by Romturingia, a coachbuilder located close to the Dacia plant. In case Romturingia’s name sounds familiar, it’s thanks to projects such as the limited production single-cab Dacia Duster Pickup released in fall 2014, or the Dacia Logan Ambulance.Romturingia has a special relationship with the Renault Group, as the level of integration with products such as the one mentioned above is very high, making the partnership an important one for the carmaker.
Returning to the four-door Duster Pickup, the vehicle has been homologated under Romania’s one-off legislation, hence the “Probe” number plates. While the two-door version had a bed length of 1.7 meters, this prototype’s bed appears to be slightly over one meter. The reduction may be less important than it appears though since the two-door’s capacities are limited by its 450 kg payload, not the size of its bed.
While the two-door version is scheduled to be produced in a lot of 500 units, which are destined for fleet customer OMV Petrom (a local arm of an oil giant), there are no current plans to produce more examples of the four-door truck.
The general context
We asked Dacia whether they are considering production for the Double Cab, even in limited numbers, but they said it is too early to discuss such matters. Moreover, there’s a rumor stating the Single Cab version will eventually reach showrooms, but the company denied this.We expect Renault to be testing the waters here. So far, all the reactions we’ve seen were positive. Then again, most people have just seen the image of the car and appreciate the idea. This means we’ll have to wait for a potential up close and personal experience to discuss deeper aspects, such as fit and finish.
Still, it’s not like Renault is a stranger to the pickup market. For instance, they offer the Oroch model on the South American market, where 75 percent of the 920,000-unit light commercial vehicle market goes to this type of vehicle.
Make no mistake though, the Oroch is built on a larger platform compared to the Duster and will compete against models such as the Toyota Hilux.
Photo via: Gabriel Catalin on Facebook
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