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The C5 Corvette “Swiss Trucklet” Is No Chevrolet El Camino

Being old, the C5 Corvette enjoys a lot of attention from the aftermarket industry as well as the modding scene. On the other hand, you’ll have a hard time finding someone willing to hack into the rear end to convert the small-block sports car into a contemporary tribute to the Chevrolet El Camino.
C5 Corvette pickup truck from Neufeld’s Special Cars Zurich 18 photos
Photo: Neufeld’s Special Cars Zurich
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The thing is, these pickup conversions do exist and they’re not exclusive to the United States of America. As the name implies, “Swiss Trucklet” here is a C5 Corvette pickup from Switzerland. Available for hire through Neufeld’s Special Cars Zurich, the car features a combination of baby blue and white as well as racing stripes on the hood and contrasting outer lips on the five-spoke wheels.

We’re dealing with a non-Z06 model here, meaning that the engine bay accommodates 5.7 liters of LS1 magic. This motor tops 350 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque in the fifth generation of the American sports car, and through continuous improvements, the YII series from HSV cranked out 382 ponies.

It’s business in the front, alright, but the Swiss Trucklet also happens to be party in the back. The bed is covered in diamond plating, the rearmost part of the cabin and rear window appears to be professionally fabricated and installed, and there are two chrome bars on the upper sides of the bed for good measure.

No tailgate, however, is featured. The first generation of the El Camino had one, and so did the fifth and final. The problem with hacking the rear end of the C5 Corvette for the sake of adding a tailgate is that you would also reduce the structural stiffness of the vehicle, translating to higher risks in the case of a crash.

Taking out so much weight off the rear axle should also translate to different weight distribution compared to the bone-stock model, namely a lighter and more playful rear end. In addition to the rental business, Neufeld’s Special Cars Zurich also lists a number of rather varied cars for sale on the company’s website.

At the time of writing, the oddity can be summed up as featuring a Jeep Jeepster Cabriolet from ‘48 on the same page as the Bentley Continental GT from ‘18. American cars are also featured, ranging from a 1963 Buick Skylark Coupe V8 to a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette with the 283 engine.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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