Renault has announced they're entering the pickup truck market "soon," and followed up with this Duster Oroch concept. Looks like it's trying to revive the "fun and useful" vibe attempted by the Pontiac Aztek and Honda Element, with some 2014 flair.
The Duster Oroch is a bit of a new spin on the "D-Cross" trotted out in 2012. Drawn up by the Renault design centre for Latin America (RDAL) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the truck is on exhibit at the city's annual motor show this week.
With almost a million pickup trucks being sold in South America every year, Renault wants a piece of the action and is planning "at least two models" for the region. Hypothetical features include:
Fully-integrated roof rails protect the panoramic glass sunroof which lets an abundance of natural light into the cabin and improves the sense of space inside the car. The rear layout has been specially designed to safely stow several kitesurf boards.
Duster Oroch includes two rear-mounted cameras to capture special sporting moments. Their angles are set at 80° and 140°
I think those little black squares behind the rear doors are the "action cameras," and I guess those louvers on the rear window are actually kite boards. That's sort of an obscure sport to build a whole truck around, but I like the way the Oroch cooks the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Subaru Baja, Aztek, and Element together in a modern package I actually kind of like.
After all, this is closer to the of a "fun car" we're always missing, isn't it?
Regarding how the design will change as the truck goes to production, feel free to interpret comments from Denis Barbier, Senior Vice President, Chairman of the Americas Region:
"The Duster Oroch is a concrete illustration of our strategy to develop products tailored to our Latin American markets. Based on the Duster, which is one of our best-selling models in the region, the show car explores the world of pick-ups – a segment we're absent from at the moment but which totals over 900,000 vehicles sold each year."
Images: Dacia/Renault