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Renault has released their latest global pickup concept, the Alaskan, and by global they mean almost everywhere except Alaska.
Go figure.
Regardless, the Alaskan looks like a beefed-up version of the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup concept revealed in Detroit. Renault said the Alaskan is part of a new global push for their LCV business. We bet Mercedes will have something to say about this very soon.
While just a “concept”, expect the Alaskan to spawn a production model in short order … or maybe two models.
Mercedes, who’s been working with Nissan-Renault in a fairly cozy fashion as of late, also announced they will have a pickup for global markets that doesn’t include Alaska — or the rest of the United States. Remove the diamond logo, slap on a tri-star, and call it a T-Class.
A bi-turbo, four-cylinder diesel engine is said to live under the hood. Those turbos are asymmetrical, with the smaller of the two providing “smooth acceleration” and a larger turbo for power at higher speeds.
Renault said a new “one-tonne” pickup will be revealed early next year.
I kind of like it. I also think it looks like a VW. Glad to see they fitted a big USB phone charger to the roof.
There’s another one in the back, where the tow hitch should have been.
And what’s with the purple tailgate straps, and purple neon illuminated rearview mirrors?
If the French really wanted to design a truck, they should start by using and driving some real trucks to get some familiarity with what a truck is, what it does and what its capabilities need to be. This thing would about as useless as that thin nylon tent for camping on rocks next to a glacier.
@Mark Stevenson
No bit off the mark, excuse the pun. The Renault like the Mercedes Pickup is a derivative of the Nissan NP 300 It’s main market will be South America. Nissan Renaults stablemate will be concentatiing on Asia, South Africa and Australia/NZ
Here is the story about the Alaskan Pickup Truck. name is a bit of a misnomer
“Nissan and Renault are already developing a 1-ton pickup truck for Renault which will also share some common architecture with the Nissan NP300. The truck, which will have a distinctive Renault design, is Renault’s first 1-ton pickup truck as well. Production of Renault’s 1-ton truck will begin in 2016 at Nissan’s plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The 1-ton pickup will mark Renault’s second entry into the pickup segment after the launch of a half-ton pickup later this year.
The Mercedes-Benz 1-ton pickup truck will be built by Nissan in the Renault plant in Cordoba, Argentina, along with the Nissan NP300 and the Renault 1-ton truck, for Latin America. The three trucks will also be built in the Nissan plant in Barcelona, Spain, for other markets, excluding North America. Production of the trucks at the two plants will start by the end of the decade.”
Looks great for notatruck.
I really want a notatruck because most of the things I do require notatruck.
Wagon with 4wd accomplishes similar tasks.
Can’t fit a motorcycle in a wagon unless I take it apart.
Ford Transit or Minivan should do the trick, right?
Fair enough.
Transit is a good answer.
Medium roof, short wheelbase, V6 Transit will haul everything you ever need for the low price of $31K. It’ll give you a 9.5 ft x 4.5 ft x 6 ft enclosed space. Two motorcycles will fit in there no problem.
On top. You’d be amazed by what you can do with the top of a jeep Cherokee.
For transporting a motorcycle, its really a pickup or trailer. There is no easy way to secure it in a van, and that’s not even the problem. Problem is the fumes. You basically have to drive with the windows down or its just overpowering. Yeah, you could drain the gas tank, but that’s just work.
Me too. I want a commuter vehicle, that’s good in snow, can hall stuff once in a while and can be easily parked. Something I can loan to my kids when they need it to go to Ikea.
Why not sell it as a Nissan here?
Also, what on earth is that thing on the roof?
The Murano CrossCargo will be available in 2018.
I believe that is one of our future robot overlords hitching a ride.
Fancy Lights my guess
I believe the item on the roof is a solar panel so you can retain electrical power while you are broken down on the side of the road.
Looks like they put the exhaust right where the hitch is supposed to go.
Forget the truck, after looking at these pictures I really want to go to Alaska.
And also, what the heck is on its roof?
Can we have a daily BECAUSE OF COURSE NOT? This notatruck is today’s because of course not.
Ask and you shall receive.
Maybe.
They call it “Alaskan”, not “Alaska”, which is a demonym for people of a place; as if Renault is summing up the people of Alaska in this truck. Must be payback for GM naming a land yacht Canadian Pontiac after the people of Paris. Maybe GM meant Paris, Kentucky, which would’ve been perfectly appropriate, and this is all just a misunderstanding.
Alaskan?
McKinley or Denali too controversial ;)
The cargo box is too small but Big Al says the rest of the world gets by just fine with small boxes. (I’m sure that there is a NSFW joke in there somewhere ).
Hey Lou,
Trolling?
You might need a 6 foot box that’s empty for much of the time, like most pickup operators.
Big Al from Oz – you did say that the rest of the world has 5 ft box trucks packing a metric tonne.
Us inferior types in the Colonies tend to view things a bit differently but thanks for playing.
A 6 ft box is for those guys out their that actually use their trucks as trucks.
I’d rather travel down a dirt road with my gear in the box tailgate up. Drive 300 km up and down a dirt road with the tailgate down and see what your tailgate looks like afterwards. Gets kinda hard on the box corners too.
@Lou_BC
Agree with you. If they are using them fo work they have at least an 8ft Utility bed or a Single Cab model with a long Pickup bed. Loose sand or dirt is piled into Utlity beds. Short beds are similar to the short beds on US Pickups
Lou_BC
An example of ” total utilisation ” of an 8ft plus Pickup bed, in a single cab Pickup in Asia LOL
http://www.wecreate.asia/wp-content/gallery/you-truck-me-asia/thai-pickup-loaded.jpg
“The cargo box is too small”
Right on Lou, if you can’t put a snowmobile in the back when you need to, it’s completely useless as a PU truck!…..LOL
Mark,
By the sound of it the Alaskan concept will be based on the Duster platform. I think it looks quite good and better than the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickups.
Some of the comments that the Alaska doesn’t look like a truck are quite entertaining. So, it doesn’t have one of those compensating, animated, overly large little d!ck grilles.
It still carries 500kg, a half tonne, or about the same or more than a Ram or Raptor.
Also, Renault will be selling a version of the Navara in Australia.
Duster based pickup;
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/renaults-first-ute-revealed-20150618-ghrxg2.html
Renault’s Navara which should be in Australia in 2016, it looks challenged;
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/renault-ute-coming-in-2016-20150209-139mcr.html
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/renault-ute-coming-in-2016-20150209-139mcr.html
Mandalorian – Alaska is a beautiful place. Mount Denali is truly spectacular. I’d love to go back some day.
Did an Alaskan cruise last June and finished it off with a trip into Denali. I highly recommend it although next time I’m going to get farther than a 100 yards away from the bus. There are no trails in Denali so it’s one of the few, if not only, National Parks where you can wander wherever you want to. And camping is allowed with a permit.
I have to go back to Isle Royale National Park with the boat first though!
I can’t believe no one else has mentioned that this is obviously based on the new Nissan NP300 Navara currently on sale everywhere but America. The side profile is an exact match.
This isn’t a Duster-based notatruck, like the Santa Cruz, as many of you thought. It’s much larger.
If it was a BOF type, you’d see stuff hanging low, like the rear pumpkin, shock mounts, transfer case, front diff/bracketry and the frame itself. To be cost effective, it needs to be based on a fwd like the BAJA we didn’t buy and the Ridgeline we still don’t.
The rear pumpkin actually does peek in one of the photos. They just used so much underbody cladding on this “concept” that the things you’d expect hanging low are virtually gone.
The body itself is an exact replica of the NP300 Navara down to the creases from the front wheel arch, the protruding rear windshield, to the tail light cutout, it’s almost just a front facelift.
carlokiii,
It looks quite similar to the Duster based pickup in the link below. I originally thought the same as you.
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/renaults-first-ute-revealed-20150618-ghrxg2.html
@carlokill
You win the prize. Renault also build a very small mini pickup based on a small car
An Alaska truck should be a halftrack with heavy-duty plow and storage for several rifles.
I was recently in Monte Carlo and trust me, nobody there was driving a Monte Carlo…