You’ve likely heard that Mercedes-Benz is teaming up with industrial partner Nissan to develop a Toyota Hilux-fighting pickup. Most news outlets are referring to the truck – which will likely be called GLT-Class – as Mercedes’ first-ever pickup but that’s not accurate, it’s Mercedes’ first-ever mid-size pickup.
The automaker’s South African arm built a number of car-based pickups in the 1950s in order to circumvent local taxes that applied to imported commercial vehicles. Later on, Mercedes’ Argentinian division famously built both two- and four-door pickups based on the 220D.
That got us thinking: what classic car do you think should have been offered as a pickup straight from the factory?
Our vote goes to the Fiat 500 Giardiniera. Italian coachbuilder Francis Lombardi built a handful of 500-based pickups (see below) in the 1960s, imagine if Fiat had picked up on the idea and mass-produced it. Priced right, it could have been a popular alternative to small, city-dwelling delivery vehicles like the Piaggio Ape.
Opel corsa MKI
That would have been interesting. If memory serves the mk2 Corsa was offered as a pickup in South Africa, wasn’t it?
volvo 140/160/240/260. vw golf.
What generation Golf? They had the Caddy in the 70s and 80s, which worked pretty well.
The Volvo would have been awesome, imagine a single-cab pickup based on the 240 wagon.
Not exactly a classic, but a Fiat/SEAT Panda would have made a good cab for a mini pickup.
Yeah, that would have been an awesome one. I bet someone’s cut up a Terra before.
And I consider the Panda a classic – you’re sure as hell not going to see one in Pebble Beach but it was introduced 35-years ago, that’s old enough for classic status in my book.
They say that there was a gentlemen agreement between Fiat and Piaggio : Fiat wouldn’t build scooters, and Piaggio wouldn’t build small cars. Maybe that’s why Fiat didn’t offer an Ape rivaling truck.
Really? That’s interesting, do you have any more info? I guess it would explain a lot, I’ve always wondered why Fiat didn’t build scooters.
Sorry for the late reply. I can’t find a reliable source, but it’s usually said that it’s because of this unwritten agreement that the Vespa 400 was built in France by ACMA and never officially imported in Italy.
And speaking of the Ape, in Dante Giacosa’s “Forty Years of Design with Fiat” (which you can download for free at the link below), page 276, there’s a picture of a three-wheeler prototype that totally looks like an Ape with a 500 face. It was developed in a R&D center in Heilbronn, Germany, it had the engine of the 500 giardiniera and it was first shown at the 1962 Frankfurt Motor Show.
http://www.fcagroup.com/en-us/group/history/pages/dante_giacosa.aspx
Thanks for the link – I actually have that book (it’s fascinating) but I haven’t looked at it in years.
Citroen D. The wagons make a perfect base for the conversion.
I can see that, yeah. It would have been pretty unique in its segment, too!
The Volvo 240 springs immediately to mind. (Also, my Mercedes-Benz 508 tow truck is registered as a pickup.)
I’m envious – I’ve always wanted a 508 tow truck!