As you’ve probably noticed, 6×6 pickup conversions are so popular in America, that they affect Ford, Ram, Jeep and Chevy products. However, Europeans apparently like adding extra wheels to their trucks as well, as proven by this my Mercedes X-Class 6×6.
This has been one heck of a difficult vehicle to document. I found it in two Reddit posts, and the problem wasn’t that I didn’t know what it was, just that I didn’t want to post only one photo.
This whole six-wheeled craze started after Mercedes launched the G63 AMG 6×6. People were impressed not only by the power its V8 made or how many locking diffs it had but also how much it cost. Many of them went to oil billionaires in the middle east, and when they come up for sale, these things cost about $1.5M.
While the G-Class is sometimes offered as a small pickup, Mercedes had another model serving as its utilitarian vehicle. Under a partnership it had with Nissan/Renault, Daimler developed and offered the X-Class.
This pickup is smaller than most American models, but comparable in size to the Ford Ranger. And while it has some of the luxury trim and badges of a Mercedes, it’s actually based on the Nissan Navara. Some sources say this 6×6 is actually a Navara with the X-Class body kit, and I guess that’s not really important, since they were both made in Spain.
What is a Mercedes X-Class?
The X-Class was in production between 2017 and 2020. For 2018, the first full year, they only sold 16,700, so it’s not that common. One important difference between this and the Navara would be the powertrains, as the flagship X 350d came with a 255 hp 3.0-liter diesel, much more powerful than anything its cousin had.
With the “what” out of the way, let’s talk about the “who and where?” of this story, which was the difficult part. The project was put together by a Swedish shop called Järudds Class Cars (the dots are important) and was shown a few days ago at the Elmia Car Show. Now, I may not speak Swedish, but some of the elements in this build are familiar.
First of all, the 6×6 sits pretty low on a set of Ferrada FT3 matte black wheels. They’re 24×10-inch at all corners, so quite the sports car-like setup.
And as for the widebody kit, I think it’s made by Pickup Design. Some four years ago, this company showed a 6-wheel X-Class, but it looked like a 3D model at the time. It had exactly this look, with plates over the top of the fender flares. However, the front has changed a lot since then, gaining more aero elements, including a chin spoiler.
The concept was dubbed the Exy Monster X and was supposed to have a full carbon fiber body and interior hardware from Carlex Design. Nobody knows what these things cost, but it’s probably in the low Lamborghini Huracan price range.
