Turns out Arnold Schwarzenegger had a vintage Mercedes once. It’s just not a cushy old W108 sedan, that’s all.
Schwarzenegger was known for driving Hummers around Los Angeles (before they were cool, actually.) But turns out he also had one of the meanest Mercedes-Benz Unimog “pickup trucks” ever. We know that because it’s actually for sale at Texas Direct Auto right now with an asking price of $350,980. Update: this thing was a whole lot cheaper when it was for sale in Europe more than a year ago.
The dealership says they bought the 1977 Mercedes U1300 straight from “The Governator” himself, who was kind enough to autograph the dashboard before he handed it off to its next owner.
Its beauty is in how basic it is. Arnie’s ’Mog is pretty much just the ultimate incarnation of a single-cab pickup. The impressive size of the diesel engine (6.4 liters) is only outshone by the gargantuan tire dimensions of 445/65R22.5. (!!!)
The tray-style bed is a nice touch too; looks like the sides and rear all drop down for easy cargo access. At least that’s how it would work if those tubes weren’t in the way.
Other than that it’s got a winch, the only hoop-style “roll bar” I’ve ever seen on a Unimog, and did you see those rear-facing bed seats?
The vehicle looks a little tough to drive around town, and a little too clean to have been used “properly,” which is probably because it only has about 1,800 miles on it. It’s your turn to take it to the badlands and put some prairie pinstripes on that paint job!
If you buy this baby, please pick me up so I can sit in the bed seats and say “WOO!” while we crush rocks at Johnson Valley.
Hat tip to Tristan! Images via Texas Direct Auto
Contact the author at andrew@jalopnik.com.