With platform sharing it’s common to see one model spawning a couple of different body types, including panel vans and pickups. However, that’s not common in India. So when someone needs to add some utility to his/her vehicle, he transforms the car into a more practical pickup truck. We look at a few of these nice conversions from the country.
Starting with what’s easily the best looking one of the lot:
Renault Duster ‘Oroch’
The Duster pickup Oroch has little appeal in the Indian market, so while it’s unlikely to make an official presence here, someone has created one already. The meticulously-made Duster pickup now has a loading bay at the rear, is stock otherwise, save for the meatier rubber and aftermarket head- and tail-lamps.
The blacked-out styling adds to the neat job while the tonneau cover means you can keep the rear covered when not in use.
Volkswagen Vento pickup
Volkswagen Motorsport has been running dream-spec versions of the Polo and the Vento for their races, but a pickup? Yes, why not! The Vento-based pickup looks similar to a bog-standard sedan but only till the middle of it. B-pillar onwards, it’s a loading bay, good enough to transport anything and everything from body parts to spare tyres. There are two roll bars added at the rear, which should take care of the roll protection, apart from the from structure which is left untouched. Other differentiating bits include a VW Motorsport livery, new alloys, and fewer doors. We want!
Volkswagen Cross Vento pickup
Using the same styling as the Cross Polo but with a total of 160 new parts made for the vehicle, this pickup was made by VW apprentices. It’s made for firefighting and used with recycled bits — the latter to keep the costs low. Powering the car was a 1.6-liter TDI engine — yes, the same torque-y unit from the Vento and the first-gen Polo GT TDI. It looks neat!
Maruti 800 pickup
Given the low costs involved in procuring one now, the 800 is a great project car. But a pickup based on it still sounds unlikely. But as it turns out, someone has done a good mod-job by converting the 800 into a two-door car with a loading area at the rear.This one’s based on the first generation model (SS80), while if you’re looking for something with more authentic pickup looks, there’s this:
Tata Nano pickup
The Nano’s success isn’t certainly coming from the low monthly sales but the low buying price of the car enables its use in a varied way. The example here underwent a chop-job and now has a loading area at the rear. But the owner has decided to put a custom-made seat at the rear for the wind in hair experience, alongside the added ability to carry larger items. The roll-bar doubles up as a mounting point for fog lamps, and support for getting in the rear, because the lack of doors is worrying.