A unique six-wheeled pickup truck based on the Jaguar XJ Series III – or, more accurately, its Daimler-badged counterpart – has just found a new owner in the Netherlands, who parted with €14,504 for it.
The base sedan was known as the Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas. It came out in 1981 and had a stretched wheelbase, as well as an opulent interior highlighting the social status of its owner. The car pictured here was rebuilt into an improvised truck at some point, but when it happened or who was responsible for the job is lost to history.
Only the front seat row was allowed to remain. The tuner added a third wheel axle and a truck bed at the rear end, installed a new exhaust system with pipes running straight under the side sills, and resprayed the entire body in a shade of purple. The 5.3-liter V12 under the hood remained stock and continued to make 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW).
You may also have noticed a pipe sticking out from behind the left door. It is the gas tank filler neck that has to stay the way it is because of the modified fenders. It is unclear why the owner didn’t at least try to chop it down a bit, but we guess it’s a part of this weird automobile’s charm.
The car had 124,000 km (77,000 miles) on it at the moment of sale. Its leather/wood interior trim needed a restoration along with some of the bodywork, and the seller warned about oil leaks and a stuck fuel meter. That said, he claimed that the engine, the automatic gearbox and the suspension were all in ‘decent’ condition.