It’s Monday of what is going to be a short holiday week, we’ve got a couple of folks out of the office today and generally, my weekly routine has already been interrupted. I’m sure you’ve been there.
And if you’re like me, mornings like this – the ones where you absolutely, positively have to be as productive as possible – come with a higher than average probability of getting sucked down a sinkhole of car stuff. Searching for the next project car I need to buy on Craigslist, getting around to buying that replacement for my wife’s dinged-up fog light, or joyfully scrolling the pages of Yahoo Japan Auctions.
If you haven’t yet discovered Yahoo Japan, please accept my apology, in advance, for all the time you’re about to waste over there. An auction site with a remarkable selection of Japanese-market cars, this branch of the Yahoo family tree is always good for a surprise or two. Or, like today, something you’ve never even imagined could exist.
“Would you like to drive a car like no other?”
Our Yahoo Japan seller clearly knows his audience, as that evocative pitch line suggests. Truly, this is the first time I’ve seen – or even considered – a W221 Mercedes-Benz S-Class reimagined as a low-slung pickup truck. Whether the next owner lives in Japan or imports it to the States to blow people’s minds, I’m quite certain there won’t be a twin S-Truck in the neighborhood.
Details about the neo-Vario build are unsurprisingly scarce but this seems to be a mechanically unmolested S350 with a small truck bed artfully grafted where the rear seats and trunk ought to be. The listing says the tidy wood bed is constructed from “Amazonian jarrah hardwood,” which on the surface seems like a fine, weatherproof concept for the build. An estimated max payload of about 440 pounds is reasonable, too, as I don’t expect this vehicle will be snapped up by your average tradesman.
The asking price, roughly $18,000 at today’s exchange rates, is double what you’d pay for a nicely kept W221 in my neck of the woods, but it seems like a bargain for this unicorn. It might even be worth it after you add the $5,000 to $10,000 that Google tells me it’ll take to import a car from Japan to the U.S. – at least for the right collector.
Hey, Pebble Beach and Monterey Car Week are right around the corner…
