Perusing the Cohort never fails to amaze, especially the more obscure vehicles that we never see here. This one, posted by Eric Clem and shot in Colombia, just might take the cake in that department, and it took a bit of doing to figure out just what it is. I instantly recognized the Renault 12 body in the front, but there’s clearly a driven solid axle under that cargo bed. What the?!? The R12 and all its derivatives were strictly FWD, or so I assumed.
A bit of sleuthing led me to the Romanian Dacia 1307 double cab pickup, which apparently came in RWD as well as 4×4 versions. I can’t help but wonder how that all got worked out under the hood. And its still got the three-lug wheels of the R12.
Here’s the view from the front. What’s interesting is that Colombia once assembled its own R12s between 1973 and 1981, from CKD kits that came from Argentina and France. But the Dacia pickup was supposedly only built in Romania, so this was presumably imported from there.
The Dacia Pickup had a very long life (not unlike the Dacia 1300 it was based on), being built from 1975 right up to 2006. Engines were 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 L gasoline fours, and a 1.9 L diesel. It was apparently also sold in the UK, where it was called the Shifter.
If you ever run into one of these in your travels, now you’ll know what it is.
Interesting find, yet it is the country Colombia and not Columbia as in the space shuttle.
Thank you for pointing that out. Fixed now.
Dacia are one of the fastest growing brands in the UK with their range of bargain priced no-nonsense vehicles. Renault owned, I believe.
It goes to show there’s a market for basic, cheap vehicles with zero cachet or social ‘prestige’, even in an increasingly ‘brand snobby’ rather than ‘social class snobby’ England.
More power to Dacia, I think. Oh, BTW, it’s pronounced ‘Da-cha’ and not ‘Day-cee-ah’ as it looks.
They are very common around here, but in slightly modified form. Wheels are 5-lug, there is a real chassis (although welded to the cab and cargo bed) and you can choose 1.4 petrol (with ubiquitous LPG conversion) or 1.9 diesel.
And usually they come standard with a “dinghy” on top (rather cumbersome cargo area box, with double back doors).
Most of them I see are 4×4 (a 300USD option, so most buyers tick this box), but from the currents ads, it appears that newer models (1305) are actually FWD!?!? And yet, Romanian website lists models under 1304 code as RWD.
Apparently, they were produced at the same time, under different names….
They are honest, cheap pickups, but rust rather quickly, so after 10 years of service, scrapyard is where they should go (but don’t always…)
The brazilian Ford Pampa was too manufactured as a 4WD.
The Pampa was a though little truck. Relatives owned a 1995 with the 1.6L gas engine, 5 speed manual on the floor, and a straight bench seat. I found it very smooth to drive. They drove it 20 plus years doing daily duties on a farm and with not a single broke down. Oddly, it’s engine was based on an old Renault engine and was also applied on many 70s 80s and 90s Ford models like the Corcel, Del Rey and Escort.
These car/truck mashups are fantastic. Very practical I would imagine. It is a shame they are not in demand here.
We visited a Turkey a few years ago, and every other vehicle was Renault 12 / Dacia, – saloons, estates and 2 and 4 door pick ups. Clearly more rugged than your average Western Europe Renault
Fantastic find!
Really really intersting article, that is what I love CC for!
Wikipedia claims that the Dacia Pick-Up was offered in rear AND front-wheel drive configurations. Which brings me to a really interesting question I would like to ask the community: What other vehicles do you know of that were offered in both FWD and RWD?
I have only two in mind, but surely, there must be more:
1. The Rover/MG 75. Initially sold only as FWD it was adapted to RWD with the introduction of the Ford sources 4.6 liter V8.
2. The Mercedes Benz V-Class van (or Viano, as the commercial version is called) – AKA METRIS in the US.
While the first generation was FWD only, the second offered RWD and AWD, the third is offered in ALL THREE drivetrain configuration, with the smaller Renault sourced diesel engines only offered in FWD.
And this is where the story comes full circle: These, for a van the size of the V-Class, tiny 1.6 liter diesel engines, are also heavily used in current Dacias…..
Gentlemen, engage you memories! Because “cars offered in both RWD and FWD” typed into google yields zero (useful) results…..
Another FWD, RWD or AWD offering: the Ford Transit.
More vans are available as FWD or RWD, although I don’t know by heart which ones are also offered as AWD.
That all depends where you draw the line, but there are a few additional examples.
I’m pretty sure Chenard-Walcker did this in the mid-30s, with their Aigle 22 (RWD) / Super Aigle 24 (FWD), which used the same all-steel body. Peugeot Pars (the Iran Khodro factory) still make the ROA, essentially a mating of a Peugeot 405 with a RWD drivetrain from the Rootes Arrow (aka the Paykan). And there’s the Renault 5 Turbo’s mid-mounted engine.
But then, how about the Triumph 1300 that was reengineered as the RWD Toledo? Would that count?
What about using bodies designed for FWD by another marque? E.g. the 1940 Hupp/Graham using of the Cord 810 (originally FWD) bodies, or the Citroën Traction bodies used by Delage or Licorne with RWD chassis.
And the ultimate weirdo, the Citroën 2CV Sahara, which has a second engine in the trunk for the rear wheels?
There may be the makings of a post in this…
Cool! Back in the early 80’s, I read in the car magazines that, inspired by the success of VW’s Rabbit based pickup, Renault was contemplating making a pickup based on the 18 and exporting it to the USA. Now I can see what it might have (allowing for the difference between the 12 and the 18,) looked like.
Dacia’s current range in Europe includes the Duster, Sandero, Logan and Stepway. Here’s my Dacia Duster, very popular budget suv here in England and across Europe and Asia. It is also sold as a Nissan Terano in some markets. Oh and that orange thing is my glass fibre travel trailer built in England by a company called Dub Box
My dad had a R12 wagon. It was the first car my mom had. They apparently found $200 in the wall while doing renovations to the kitchen that the old Dutch lady who previously owned the house had hidden and forgotten about. That paid for the car. He said it was great except for it overheating in the cold of Alberta winters. It disappeared before I started driving. Replaced by a dodge colt wagon and then an 84 Subaru wagon that I inherited later on.
I’m really looking FWD to that post, Tatra87, looks like you already got started on your research!
Another one: Renault converted the Clio to a mid engined RWD car with a V6 sometime in the late 90ies, early aughts.