Ladies and gents, meet South Korea's SsanYong latest creation, the SUT 1 Concept that was revealed at this week's 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The SUT 1 is a pre-production study of an SUV with a truck bed at the back that will replace the current Actyon Sports. According to the troubled (in more ways than one, as you'll see) automaker, the goal of the SUT 1 concept is simple -ahem- "to be the world's best pick-up truck."
Setting aside these overly ambitious claims, it's easy to see that this concept looks a lot better than the Actyon Sports. Gone are the boat-like nose and the "crying” headlights, giving way to a far better-looking front that sports an imposing honeycomb grille and modern detailed headlamps.
However, the rest of the car is not very different: the profile remains the same, with only the roof and load-area rails being new, while at the back the only obvious changes are the higher placed reshaped taillights and the slightly redesigned rear door. It looks more like a facelift than a pre-production concept study.
Powered by a 2.0-liter diesel engine, the SUT 1 has a relatively low CO2 emissions level for a pick-up truck - 193 grams of CO2 per kilometer for the rear wheel-drive model with a manual transmission. The engine delivers 155-horsepower and 360 Nm (265.5 lb-ft) of torque from 1,500 rpm, with a low end value of 190 Nm (140 lb-ft).
As with the Actyon Sports, the SUT 1 will be available with either rear- or all-wheel-drive and with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Details about load capacity only refer to the deck having an area of 2 square meters (21.5 sq. ft).
Production of the SUT 1 will begin in the second half of 2011, with sales starting in early 2012.
By Dan Mihalascu
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