Photo: yasiddesign/Instagram
Back when Britain's Vauxhall Motors still belonged to General Motors (instead of Stellantis), Bedfords were all the rage among fans of commercial vehicles. Unfortunately, the brand was sent in search of greener automotive pastures some three decades ago, with the retirement slip having the 1991 timestamp.
Of course, as is the case with so many other important nameplates, gone doesn’t equal forgotten as well. Even if we’re dealing with just the virtual realm, it’s still better than nothing. Pixel master Al Yasid (of yasiddesign Instagram fame) is probably on the same page and recently dreamt a Bedford project that’s so outlandish it got us enamored in a jiffy.
Frankly, not even modern vans have been doing very well lately, so it’s hard to imagine anyone looking at the sales charts reading (almost) nothing but crossovers, SUVs, and trucks would ever approve a Bedford revival. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t spark the imagination of a Bedford enthusiast who has the time and money to bring this low-rider into the real world.
After all, big carbon-fiber exterior mirrors and an air suspension aren’t that hard to find. Of course, one will need specialists to nail the fender flares and the axle extensions required to fit the humongous alloy and tire setup. But one could choose a tamer appearance because Yasid actually used all the modifications to support the ultimate customization: a Pagani Zonda R engine swap.
That’s right; the virtual artist envisioned this Bedford van with a 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz GT 112 engine riding in the back where passengers would usually be. Given the quad exhaust setup coming out the left rear door, we can imagine that all 750 ponies came along for the ride, and the oomph gets sent to the humongous rear tires via the six-speed Xtrac sequential transmission.
What a thrill ride this could be (but never will, unfortunately), although we imagine it wouldn’t be able to replicate the Zonda’s regular performance (2.5s to 60 mph/96 kph and a 233-mph/375-kph top speed) point by point.
Frankly, not even modern vans have been doing very well lately, so it’s hard to imagine anyone looking at the sales charts reading (almost) nothing but crossovers, SUVs, and trucks would ever approve a Bedford revival. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t spark the imagination of a Bedford enthusiast who has the time and money to bring this low-rider into the real world.
After all, big carbon-fiber exterior mirrors and an air suspension aren’t that hard to find. Of course, one will need specialists to nail the fender flares and the axle extensions required to fit the humongous alloy and tire setup. But one could choose a tamer appearance because Yasid actually used all the modifications to support the ultimate customization: a Pagani Zonda R engine swap.
That’s right; the virtual artist envisioned this Bedford van with a 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz GT 112 engine riding in the back where passengers would usually be. Given the quad exhaust setup coming out the left rear door, we can imagine that all 750 ponies came along for the ride, and the oomph gets sent to the humongous rear tires via the six-speed Xtrac sequential transmission.
What a thrill ride this could be (but never will, unfortunately), although we imagine it wouldn’t be able to replicate the Zonda’s regular performance (2.5s to 60 mph/96 kph and a 233-mph/375-kph top speed) point by point.
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