Luxury SUVs are all the rage these days. It's as if every automaker on this side of the 2020s doesn't want to be caught dead without a top-tier luxury version of their flagship full-sized sport utility vehicle. But most of these land ships aren't much good at performing actual work. Be it towing, off-roading, or whatever.
If you want something that can do all of these things without much complaint, maybe ditch your Bentley Bentayga or Lamborghini Urus. In favor of an ultra-high-end offering from Italy based on the rough, rugged underpinnings of a Ram 1500 pickup truck. Say hello to the Aznom Atulux, a finely sculpted SUV with the 5.7-liter HEMI heart of a Ram.
Now, Aznom isn't one of the premiere names in the world of custom car modifications. Nor will they probably be receiving any performance tuning awards like Brabus or Hennessey. Instead, think of Aznom as a high-end Italian suit tailor for your car. Specializing in one-off projects that help customers turn ordinary vehicles into something far more than typical.
That said, they have dabbled in a few bespoke models, the Atulux being by far the most iconic. Now, anybody who understands domestic luxury trucks knows that for all the high-end leather and digital beep-boops, many USDM trucks don't have the best interiors in the world.
Cheap plastic just doesn't translate well into luxury, it would seem. This is where Aznom comes to the rescue. Gone is any hard-touch plastic from the 1500s interior. In its place is the finest Italian suede, leather, and wood trim accenting every piece of the interior that the driver could see, touch, smell, or notice in any way.
Photo: Anzom
It's a long way away from the very well-equipped but often otherwise drab interiors commonly found on stock Ram products. Extensive work was done to the exterior of the Atulux as well. With custom coachbuilding techniques being used to merge the interior cabin with what was once the pickup-bed of a Ram 1500.
The end result is something that may give you a very merited sense of Deja Vu when taking your first looks at the Atulux. It's very hard to get around the fact that it still looks very much like a Ram pickup.
But if you can get past this in your mind, it is at least a handsome-looking thing. Ram trucks are often seen as the ultimate expression of one's manhood, juvenile and silly as it sounds. But to see a Ram in a set of clothes this gosh-darn fancy is something you don't see every day.
The interior space isn't quite as practical as the 1500's either. Gone is the middle seat in the back. In its place is twin nubuck leather seats with the softest, plushest seat foam that ever found its way onto a car this side of a Rolls-Royce or top-of-the-line Bentley.
Photo: Anzom
The interior soundproofing was also bolstered over the standard Ram for a ride as quiet as it is comfortable and luxurious. The space for a minibar and Champagne flutes does wonders for that aesthetic. A large skylight bathes rear seat occupants in a warm glow, blocking just enough light to make for a pleasant view out of it.
Where the pickup bed once sat is an enclosed trunk area with a slideout bottom portion for easy access to items held further up behind the passenger cabin. All tugged along by a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that Anzom knew better than to mess around with.
At a price ranging from around $260,000 all the way to over $300,000, this is a rich people's toy for the affluent lady or gentleman that doesn't feel like being chauffeured from place to place in something as mundane as a Rolls-Royce For those who desire something different, here it is. In full, living color.
Google News