Utes aka Coupe Utilities aka Car-based Pickups

  • Thread starter Populuxe
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11,220
United States
Seattle WA
I'm surprised there is no thread dedicated to Utes, those wonderful car-based Coupe Utility pickups that are so evocative of Australian car culture, but have also thrived in other parts of the world. So show them off. Let's see every car that ever had a pickup bed stuck on the back of it.


1982-7 Chevrolet El Camino

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1972-3 Chrysler Valiant Utility VH


1983 Dodge Rampage


1960 Ford Ranchero


1977-9 Ford Falcon Sundowner XC


1974 Holden Belmont Sandman HQ


1989 Subaru Brat


1981 Volkswagen Pickup
 
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11,220
United States
Seattle WA
@Populuxe Cowboy I'm sad to report that the car based Utes are dead here in Australia, no one makes them (or any car for that matter) anymore.
Sadly, I am aware of that. I know these are dark times for Australian car fans. I'm glad Forza Horizon 3 was in Australia so non-Australians like myself got a chance to enjoy a broad selection of Australian cars and appreciate what we were losing.


1998 Ford Falcon (XH_II) Longreach GLi utility


1974-1976 Holden One Tonner HJ


1976-7 Chrysler Valiant CL Sportspack
 
1,287
Poland
Poland
J_Chmielinski
I think the UK's most recent Ute was the Vauxhall VXR8 Maloo that came from Holden.

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Huh, I never realised they left Australia. I guess it makes sense, as it's also a RHD market. Were these ever offered in LHD?
 

Robin

Premium
16,799
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Huh, I never realised they left Australia. I guess it makes sense, as it's also a RHD market. Were these ever offered in LHD?

Yeah we got the Saloon and UTE versions as Vauxhall's in various guises on and off for a decade from 2007-2017.

Not sure about LHD, as @GranTurNismo touched on I think was supposed to launch in the US under Pontiac but never happened.
 
2,170
Australia
Sydney
Inferno_251
Obligatory:

bmw-e92-m3-ute-front.jpg


That one-off M3 Ute from 2011. When it was spotted at the Nurburgring people thought it would be put into production, but in reality it was only a commissioned one-off and BMW used it as an April Fool's joke. Here are more pictures of it.
As mentioned here already, various BMW's have been converted into utes as one-offs over the years. BMW themselves have made other one-offs as well (idk it looks more like a pickup to me).
With the classic 'ute' pretty much gone the only thing left are dual-cabs and pickup trucks marketed as 'utes' but these will never look, feel or be the same.
 
44,975
Australia
Australia
Yeah we got the Saloon and UTE versions as Vauxhall's in various guises on and off for a decade from 2007-2017.

Not sure about LHD, as @GranTurNismo touched on I think was supposed to launch in the US under Pontiac but never happened.
Didn't Richard Hammond test the sedan in Top Gear? I think it was. white one. So long ago.
 
4,907
United States
United States
Stawookie
VW made a factory Beetle pickup in the 1940s. It was called the Type 825 and they were mainly built from roughly 1940/1 and throughout the war but a few examples were built after the war to carry cars and parts around the factory. A 1946 825 seen with a 5th wheel attachment:
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Other wartime 825s:
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Joey D

Premium
45,680
United States
Boyne Falls, MI
GTP_Joey
GTP Joey
Simone Giertz is pretty cool, she comes with with some interesting stuff. She also remained super upbeat after battling two rounds of brain cancer.