In the past, it was taken for granted that some motor manufacturers just didn't build SUVs, and then Jaguar unveiled the F Pace, Bentley came up with the Bentayga, Lamborghini brought us the Urus and now almost every company has one. So, given the popularity of pickups in North America and elsewhere in the world these days, it's hard to see too many brands saying "never" to them either. And that's especially as Mercedes-Benz is now one of very few luxury brands to dip a toe into the pickup market with its new X-Class, which has just had a pair of camping concept versions revealed ahead of a show in Stuttgart.
The show in question is the Caravan, Motor, Touristik (CMT) show in Stuttgart, Germany (January 13-21), and the two concepts specially designed for the show are a fairly conventional camper setup and another that's a sort of mobile kitchen arrangement.
As far as the camper is concerned, it comes from a company called Tischer, and it's actually a reasonably standard truck-bed-mounted drop-in camper box. It has seating capacity for up to three people and includes a small kitchen with a three-burner gas stove, sleeping accommodation, and even a limited bathroom consisting of a hideaway sink and toilet and a very compact space for showering.
By way of some contrast, the other concept of the pair is considerably less capable or versatile, but it's also a lot more stylish than the camper. This one has been created by VanEssa Mobilcamping, and its main feature is a 250 kg slide-out kitchen system. Included is a cooler, sink and storage for lots of different types of cookware. Every bit of it fits completely within the bed of the truck and slides out beyond the tailgate for use. It also goes underneath the very classy teak wood bed cover, and the really good news is the kitchen unit doesn't take up the whole bed, either, so there's still room in there for other various camping items.
Although these are not accessories that will come from Mercedes directly, they do show the imagination of aftermarket outfitters and what people might want to do with the X Class in markets where it is available for sale.
The X Class pickup is being rolled out now in Australia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, but it appears there are no plans for it to be made available in North America for the foreseeable future.
Also Watch: Kevin Flynn, President & MD, FCA India | Interview
Comments
0 comment