If you loved the Subaru Brat or Baja, or the one-off 1958 Chevy El Camino displayed a few years ago at the SEMA Show (Chevrolet didn’t introduce its car-based pickup until 1959), you have to love the 2000 Mercedes-Benz E320 station wagon converted into a pickup truck by German coachbuilder Binz.
The Pick of the Day was commissioned by an Atlanta-area Mercedes dealer and is being offered on ClassicCars.com for $69,500, which seems quite a bargain since the advertisement for the car claimed $50,000 was spent on the conversion from wagon to 4-door pickup.
“This one-off 2000 E320 is one of the most extraordinary examples of the W210 we’ve ever seen,” the dealer proclaims in the advertisement. “This car left the factory as a standard station wagon, but instead of heading to a showroom, it shipped directly to Karrosserie Binz in Germany for conversion into this incredible, one-of-a-kind four-door pickup at the behest of an Atlanta-area Mercedes-Benz dealer.
Binz was established in 1936 by Michael Binz and produces emergency vehicles and customizes vehicles for people with disabilities.
“Binz is one of a select few traditional German coachbuilders to survive into the modern era, and they have a long tradition with Mercedes-Benz, with a portfolio that includes estates, ambulances, hearses, with more recent work focusing on limousines and custom tuning,” the dealer notes.
“Binz tapped into its wild side for this one-off pickup creation, which the original owner used as a promotional vehicle for his dealership.”
To turn the station wagon into a crew-cab pickup, the E320 chassis was extended by 29 inches and a pickup bed was fabricated.
“The quality is superb, with a virtually seamless conversion that could be mistaken as the factory’s own work,” according to the ad. “Features of the transformation include the custom bed with tailgate, tubular stainless-steel bed rails, and custom LED lighting in the cargo box.
“Binz utilized the original wagon rear window, which opens for access to the passenger compartment.”
The original rear seat was replaced by a pair of bucket seats just like those the factory installed up front, and added a center console.
According to the ad, the conversion cost was $49,760.
The Georgia dealer kept the vehicle until 2006. It was sold to an owner in California and is being offered with little more than 21,000 miles on its odometer.
Like other E320s, the wagon-turned-pickup has a 3.2-liter V6 engine and 5-speed automatic transmission.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com., see Pick of the Day.
What makes it worth $69.5K? Only that it’s a one-off, not because of what was spent on the mods. A quick check of values for low mileage sedans comes up with less than $5K, so I would argue it’s overpriced by a minimum of $14K. Of course, it’s worth whatever someone is willing pay. But don’t be a shill for the seller at the expense of potential buyers (AKA your readers).
It sold at Barrett-Jackson 2 months ago for $31k. It was built by an Atlanta area Mercedes Benz store and only has 21k miles on it. Pretty cool shop truck anyway.
Looks like somebody did a lot of work, but this was one of the worst made Benz and it was ugly to begin with.
Sorry.
No, I don’t “have to love this.” Nice to have $49K for an ego project. But who am I to criticize? I actually considered repainting my 2017 Fusion in Caribbean Coral, the color of my beloved ex-’57 Pontiac. That idea was quashed when I saw the price and realized it’d end up looking like a Mary Kaye car!
That is the most ugly car/truck I have ever seen anyone that pays that much for it has more money than cents.
Commissioned..?
Looks like the kind of prank German coachbuilder employees would pull on a vacationing boss.
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PRICE ?
I like it always was a something nobody esse has type guy i would take it only 21k perfect its not ugly just different!!