Despite the desire of most manufacturers to satisfy even those demands that have not yet been formed among consumers, there are still unoccupied niches in the global car market. One of them is the compact pickup segment, which has only recently begun to gradually fill up. In this regard, there is no fierce competition, which is observed in all other niches. Therefore, companies that produce new compact pickups have a chance to make high profits.
This is probably what the engineers were thinking. Volkswagenwhen the Tarok compact pickup concept was unveiled in 2019. This model was built on the basis Tiguan and was supposed to enter the market by 2021-2022. But Volkswagen management suddenly decided to abandon the development of this project. However, this does not mean that the German concern will not take part in the development of such a car.
The fact is that a compact pickup truck may appear in the lineup GAZ. At least this is what the domestic designer suggested, who published the renderings of the Russian car. The GAZ-1 2022-2023 pickup presented on them has a sporty appearance. Due to the particular shape of the front of the body, visually it even resembles Porsche Macan. At the same time, the Russian novelty will most likely be presented in the budget car segment. That is, it will potentially be cheaper than the aforementioned Volkswagen Tarok and will become a direct competitor to the pickup truck. Renault Duster Oroch, which is currently in limited edition.
The new GAZ-1 has a unique design for its class. The developer of this concept has kept it in a sporty style, popular in the US and Australia. However, one should not expect that the Russian novelty will be really dynamic. As noted above, GAZ-1 will be sold at an affordable price. Expensive pickups in Russia are in little demand. In this regard, in order to recoup the development costs, GAZ will have to produce a budget car that will be sold in sufficient quantities. Therefore, the Russian novelty will be equipped with low-power engines that will help keep its prices at an acceptable level.
Design
Despite the fact that the developer of the presented renderings made the first GAZ pickup truck in the form of a sports car, the novelty has the characteristics inherent in cars of this class. This is indicated by the high ground clearance, combined with fairly large wheels. But thanks to its compact size, the novelty can be used not only off-road, but also in the city.
The GAZ-1 2022-2023 pickup truck stands out with its originally designed front end. There are volumetric wheel wings in oval ledges on top. In them, the developer has built in elongated optics with LED lights. This combination of two stylistic solutions makes the Russian novelty look like Porsche Tiger.
The sporty style of the pickup truck is emphasized by a hood with a large protrusion in the middle, in front of which there is an opening for additional airflow of the engine compartment. But, as will be shown below, this detail rather performs decorative functions. The nose of the body of the GAZ-1 is slightly rounded, which also emphasizes the similarity with the Porsche crossovers. The developer equipped the Russian novelty with a large-sized two-section radiator grille, which once again hints at the presence of a powerful engine and excellent vehicle dynamics. But even in this case, this design solution performs decorative functions.
The aggressiveness of the Russian model adds a front bumper with large side cutouts for blowing brakes and thin fog lights. From below it has a long and wide splitter, which, probably, in the GAZ-1 serves as additional protection, and does not increase downforce, like in sports cars.
The back of the body is no less original in the Russian novelty. Here the developer placed a compact but deep cargo compartment with an additional design in the form of hollow pipes. They apparently serve as zones for securing cargo. The rear optics of the novelty is presented in the form of round LED lights, under which a decorative plastic overlay is stretched.
The aft bumper of the GAZ-1 2022-2023 pickup truck has a stepped shape, which once again emphasizes the originality of the design chosen for the presented car. But thanks to this configuration, the developer managed to integrate additional fasteners into the body kit without spoiling the appearance.
Specifications
It was previously noted that Volkswagen could take part in the development of a compact pickup truck. This, in particular, is evidenced by the comments of representatives of the German brand, who did not rule out that the manufacturer will return to a similar project in the future. This, as well as long-term cooperation between GAZ and Volkswagen, indirectly indicates that the Gorky Automobile Plant can borrow the MQB platform from the German company, which will form the basis of the presented pickup truck.
In this case, we can expect that a 110-horsepower “atmospheric” 1.6-liter engine will appear under the hood of the GAZ-1 2022-2023 pickup truck, which is combined with a manual or automatic transmission. The possibility of an all-wheel drive version is not excluded. In this case, the car will receive a 150-horsepower 1.4-liter turbo engine, combined with a 7-speed “robot”.
Start of sales
It is important to note that the presented pickup truck render is the development of a domestic designer who is not related to the GAZ company. To date, the Gorky Automobile Plant has not made any, including indirect, statements that such a car can replenish its lineup. However, due to the growing popularity of compact pickups, it cannot be ruled out that GAZ will still develop a similar project in the future.