Romanian coachbuilder Romturingia converts 2nd-gen Dacia Duster SUV into a pickup

Duster is currently the best-selling model of Dacia, the Romanian carmaker that is part of the Renault Group. It was built as an SUV, and its smart, no-frill yet practical character made it an appealing vehicle for many. Now, its second-generation model has gained a pickup form.

This pickup version of the Dacia won't be build by the Romanian carmaker. It will be instead be built by a Romania coachbuilder called as SC Romturingia SRL, which is based in Campulung Muscel. Romturingia SRL produces bodywork for vehicles and armored vehicles, special designs for fuel transport, and vehicles with special destinations. It also builds trailers and installs hard-tops for vehicles build by Dacia, Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Ford and Mazda.

Actually, Romturingia and Dacia already had a collaboration to build a pickup version of the Duster. That was way back in 2014, and only 500 examples of the Duster SUV-turned-pickup were built and delivered. However, that collaboration involved the first generation of the Duster, all of these conversions sold to a major fleet customer in Romania. The Duster was first launched in 2009 as the first generation model, with the second generation revealed at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. Romturingia newest pickup conversion involved the second generation of the Dacia Duster.

Romturingia actually presented the second generation of the Dacia Duster pickup at the IAA Hannover Commercial Vehicle Show 2018. Just like the first generation of the conversion, this Duster pickup retained the design of the front section of the SUV, as well as practically everything up to the B-pillars. From there onwards, Romturingia hot rid nearly everything. The Romanian coachbuilder removed the rear doors and boot opening, but a pickup cargo bed that is covered by a damage-resistant material.

Other else in this new body style remains the same. The Duster pickup remains underpinned by the same platform that underpins the SUV. It is also powered by the same powertrain and backed by the same drive system.

While Romturingia isn't clear on its plans over the Duster pickup, it is expected to commence small series production of the conversion.

In 2017, the Duster accounted for over 30 percent of Dacia’s vehicle sales around the world. That year, Dacia sold more than 460,000 vehicles globally, 145,682 of which were Duster SUVs. Dacia has already sold 130,885 units of the Duster in the first eight months of 2018, which means that the SUV is pretty poised to surpass its sales results in 2017. The new Duster is now effectively Dacia’s most powerful model after a new 1.3-liter TCe engine was recently introduced. This new four-cylinder engine is offered in two versions: 130 hp (96 kW) of output and 240 Nm (177 lb.-ft.) of torque, as well as 150 hp (110 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb.-ft.).