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I love the Unimog for its massive capability as a work truck – but also its general insanity as a road-legal vehicle. Today’s 1983 U1500 model (square cab, short wheelbase) was restored in 2000 to the state we see today. The Gumby-green is a playful choice, with the side graphics and hilariously large tires conspiring to help this resemble a childhood toy of mine. It’s a bit of a reverse-mullet, all party up front with the color and laughable size, but serious business out back with a bed that doesn’t just dump backwards, but in three directions. Though very clean and well cared for, it’s also ready to rumble – be that in the mud, shipping yards, or apparently an odd automobile-themed birthday party, according to the pictures. The one hangup for all of that business and pleasure is a pricetag way above the usual (albeit older) Unimog’s we see.
I dream of owning a Unimog camper, but most of the time the barren, ex-military examples available require a lot of imagination to create one that could actually be lived in. Not so today, as this owner has created one of the most complete Unimog RVs I’ve ever seen, fully ready to climb mountains, ford streams, and escape the zombie apocalypse. If any vehicle could single-handedly circumnavigate the globe, it would be this one. The fast axles make it appropriate for highway use while the insulation means traveling at those speeds won’t destroy your ears. The generator and roof tent show that you mean business, while the living area could serve as an attractive $2k/month studio in San Francisco. It even has an insulated dog house!!! There are quite a few 4×4 Sportvans that serve as mobile apartments in SF – this would be a great choice to do the same and would give you the option to change locales should you become suddenly interested in Patagonia or Mongolia.
We’ve seen some differing takes on the Unimog recently, including a more modern 90s example and a nice change of color on a white 416. Those were cool, but today’s rings truest to the original inspiration of my Mog love, owned by my childhood best friend’s dad (also owner of an Estoril E36 M3 sedan and a strong collection of Ducatis). When it comes to affordability, even restored versions of the barebones original 404 are way up there when it comes to cool, weird, classic 4x4s. For less money than a brand-new, 2WD, no-option pickup, you could scare every other car off the road. These are certainly a want and not a need, but their impracticality in everyday life (or at least my everyday life) is strongly countered by rather low prices.
On a recent bike trip, my girlfriend and I had some long climbs up the foothills of the Bay Area on tree-lined, one-lane switchbacks. On one particularly gorgeous but hidden stretch, she yelled “look at the cool Unimog down there!” Thankful as I am that my partner knows what a Mog is, it was actually a fascinating Pinzgauer 4×4 that looked like it was prepared to be an RV for the zombie apocalypse. While that particular model looked prepared to keep people out, today’s 6×6 model looks like it wants to let anyone and anything crawl in while it dominates terrain. With heated seats, a huge truck bed, and one of the most stout external rollcages I’ve seen, I’m not sure what it’s for other than what the dudes are doing in the photo – but just riding in it looks pretty fun.
Any good enthusiast of foreign cars should have a list of which unicorns they want for each new year of eligible 25-year old import status. This Golf Country reminds me that 2017 will be a big year for me. Just look at it. The first time I saw and found out about the Golf Country I bled from my ears because my brain was spinning so hard. What… The… F? Lifted 4WD Mk2 Golf seemed like the coolest oddball that I’d never heard of. The one comes adorned with awesome Country decals with a ragtop sunroof and has covered just 113k miles. I’m setting an alarm to remind me to set my eBay followed searched to Golf Countrys in three years.