Mercedes E320 Pickup: The Most Absurd Benz in the World?
Incredibly costly ‘crossover’ is unfortunately the real deal and was carried out by M-B’s official partner, Binz GmbH.
Where do you start with something like this? We came across this turn of the century Mercedes E320 Binz pickup on Bring a Trailer and it’s a complete head-scratcher. At first, we wondered if it was built as some kind of open backed hearse, which wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility. However, we doubt there are any hearses out there lined with diamond plate.
This is certainly no backyard project cobbled together out of necessity from an old beater. It’s a very deliberate build commissioned with Binz GmbH, who is an official contract partner of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz that also builds custom vehicles for the disabled as well as limousines and, our first thought, hearses. According to the documentation, the conversion cost $50,000 on top of the cost of the E320, which would have been between $47,100 to $69,800 in 2000. According to the seller, the Mercedes-Benz board authorized five of these to be built in total. Two for the U.S, two for the middle east, and one went to Europe.
The conversion looks to be top-notch as you would expect from a Mercedes-Benz approve Binz conversion. The chassis has been stretched by 29 inches and the rear window and tailgate are repositioned to just behind rear doors. The rear window is even hinged and can be opened. Other details include individual rear buckets separated by a custom center console with a cooler built-in, 18″ AMG Monoblock wheels, and brushed stainless steel rails complete with LED lighting built into them.
Theories we’ve bandied about are that maybe it was commissioned by a well-heeled antique dealer but, for the money this Binz pickup cost, you could have gotten one hell of a Mercedes Sprinter which would fit more and have a roof.
The crew-cab style and bucket seats suggests to us that carrying passengers was a specific function, so having a separate work truck wasn’t an option. Perhaps it was owned by a highbrow cowboy for tailgate parties at the golf club? If you’ve got any better ideas of why someone would want one of these built, do let us know in the comments.
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