One of our more adventurous members brought his newest purchase over to the garage today. It's a 1972 Unimog, built by Mercedes Benz, and it might just be the perfect "city car".
It's a big thing at 8.5 feet tall, it makes me feel like I'm Danny Devito standing next to Yao Ming, but even Yao Ming would be shorter than the giant Unimog. It looks pretty formidable though, that cleft bit on the right front makes it seem as if it's whistling, I imagine the Unimog whistling along while it works, just minding it's own business.
I used google, and I'm pretty sure it's a 406 Series, with a four cylinder diesel motor putting out anywhere from 40 horsepower to 110, depending on what trim level it's equipped with. The allure is obvious; who wouldn't want to put-put around New York City in something so perfectly equipped to handle the rigors that come with driving on the streets of this fine city?
Massively wide wheelbase and bigass knobby tires provide a commanding stance, sure to send yellow cabs scurrying to the furthest lane from this diesel smoke belching beauty as it cruises up 8th avenue. Right at home with the work trucks and S-Class Benzes alike, the Unimog has a spacious and luxurious rear bed area made from dark Mahogany. So much room for activities!
Plus, it's a convertible. Plenty of room to store the top; "yeah just put it next to the hot tub". All right fine, there's no hot tub...yet (there should be).
Parking would be a breeze, once you find a spot big enough. No power steering means you are rewarded with the most direct feedback from those enormous tires, which is more than I can say for the 2012 Porsche 911, where it lets computers dictate how much feedback is piped into the steering wheel. Another upside is the sheer utilitarian simplicity of the whole thing. In the picture above I love that you can see the bottom of the wood bed between the monstrous driveshaft and exhaust.
Here's a quick video of it's brave new owner backing the Unimog out from the CCC garage, with the @MistressOfMotors riding shotgun: (they stopped and put the bed sides up just after this vid ended)
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A Unimog in NYC? Yes.