Why didn’t Land Rover make a Discovery 3 or 4 pickup? The market for bold, luxurious 4x4 pickups has boomed (think VW Amarok and Mercedes X-class), so the sumptuous and off-road savvy Disco surely had the right DNA. Was Land Rover missing a trick?
The owner of this new double-cab conversion obviously thinks so. Behind the Discovery 4 face is a 2006 Disco 3 that’s been thoroughly re-imagined. Its makers, VA-K Innovation in Mexico, specialise in limousine conversions, which must have made the job of modifying the T5 chassis with a tubular steel extension a little less daunting.
The modifications involved stretching the wheelbase. Note how the rear wheels are no longer underneath the C-pillar, eating into the second-row doors, but are much further back. The rear overhang is unaltered, and the spare wheel is still mounted under the rear of the vehicle.
OEM parts were used wherever possible, and parts such as the second-row doors were specially modified. So too was the lower tailgate, which is now flat across the top. The upper tailgate hasn’t been lost either; a modified version of it, with glass cut to fit, is incorporated into the rear of the cab.
The tub was fabricated on-site, with care being taken to follow the lines of the original vehicle. Features include a polished wood load bed (probably too pristine for real work), and what look like chrome-plated Series Land Rover rear tub floor runners. The exhaust was also extended so it still exits from the rear of the vehicle, and the vehicle sits on Cooper Zeon LTZ all-terrain tyres.
It’s not hard to imagine a Discovery double-cab pickup like this being put to serious work. Sadly Land Rover has always settled with van-like Discovery commercials but has never offered a pickup Disco. It would be good to see the future models receive the same treatment.
Peruse VA-K’s other creations on their Facebook page. Their premises are huge…
