German tuner Startech chose the Range Rover for its newest project, a fast and luxurious pickup truck that will debut at the Shanghai Auto Show. Don’t ask why, there’s obviously no practical consideration given the size of the bed and the fact that they chose a Range Rover as a base in the first place.
The result is, in Startech’s words, one of the world’s most exclusive pickups powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine that produces 526PS (519hp). This allows it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.3 seconds and to reach an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
Besides being converted into a pickup truck, the Range Rover has also received a widebody kit consisting of carbon fiber parts and 23-inch forged wheels, among many other styling tweaks.
The interior also got a lot of attention from Startech, which gave the pickup a new upholstery mixing fine leather with Alcantara and carbon-fiber elements color-coordinated with the exterior.
While Startech describes the conversion as featuring “lines that are visually integrated into the original vehicle design in an equally striking and harmonious fashion,” we’d beg to differ. Well, at least it has the same torsional rigidity as the donor vehicle.
The tuner says the transformation from an off-roader to a pickup required designing and manufacturing no less than 100 bodywork components from aluminum, carbon fiber and steel. Interestingly, the fact that the Startech Pickup can be registered as a commercial vehicle in many markets makes it cheaper to import than in its standard luxury SUV form, as high import duties and taxes can be avoided.
The plastic-lined pickup bed is almost square and offers a loading length of 1,100mm (43.3in) with the tailgate closed. When the tailgate is opened, either by remote control or by a push of a button in the cockpit, another 600mm are available for carrying cargo.
The Startech Pickup is offered will all available Range Rover engines and colors.
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