By: Jason Woosey
The Renault Oroch concept vehicle, just unveiled at the Sao Paulo motor show, opens up an interesting range of possibilities and one of them is rather obvious.
What if the company suddenly decided to launch a double cab bakkie version of the Renault/Dacia Duster? Think about it - the Duster SUV strikes a decent balance between car-like comfort and off-road ruggedness and a unibody bakkie spin-off could neatly plug a gap between compact unibody utes like the Chevrolet Ute and Nissan NP200 and the traditional ladder-frame hulks that are becoming so expensive nowadays.
A bakkie version of the Duster has been flying around the rumour mill for a long time now and there are even a few single cab Dusters cruising around Europe, although these coach-built units are part of a special project created for OMV Petrom.
A NISSAN VERSION?
But speaking of Nissan's little ute, we come to yet another possibility. Nissan has yet to announce anything about the future of the SA-only NP200, but given that the current one is based on a Renault/Dacia Logan bakkie, surely it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for Nissan SA to create a replacement based on a Duster bakkie? Poach the front-end panels from the Duster-based Nissan Terrano and we're really styling.
Perhaps we're getting a bit carried away here as this Oroch concept has yet to be green-lighted for production although the implication is certainly there, given that Renault plans launch two pick-up models in South America some time in the future.
Penned at Renault's Latin America design centre, the Oroch intends to combine the practicality of a five-seat pick-up with the robust looks of a “true SUV.”
The concept features two rear-mounted cameras (set at 80 and 140-degree angles) to capture “sporting moments” and there's a screen inside that can display the images in real time. The cabin also boasts 'cover carving' seats that have an additional layer of foam to withstand intensive use.
But to the yay or nay: would you like to see this ute on our streets?