Mercedes Goes Extreme With Sprinter Concept

Although Mercedes-Benz made some news at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show with the introduction of a , the real attention-grabber was an 8-foot-tall dump-truck concept version of the Sprinter. The Sprinter Extreme Concept is the coolest heavy-duty pickup truck we've seen in a long time.

Built on a slime-green Sprinter 3500 chassis cab, the truck's main feature is an Italian-sourced "tipper bed" that allows the three-way tipping aluminum bed to dump cargo behind, on the right or the left side of the truck thanks to a 2.5-ton hydraulic ram under the truck.

Longtime Mercedes-Benz performance modifier RENNtech gave the bed a customized look but it still retains its three-way dumping capabilities. RENNtech also added a custom roof rack and six spotlights for forward illumination, two side spotlights and included several fog lights to cut through bad weather. Our favorite features are the dual 4-inch vertically mounted exhaust stacks and the six bead-lock wheels on a dualie with mud tires.

The monster dump truck is wrapped in green and yellow graphics, and uses a light suspension lift for a little more ground clearance and enough protected space for two large, lockable storage bins behind the cab. Mercedes has no plans to offer anything like this concept, but we wish it would. In fact, we think this might be a great idea for one of the one-ton truckmakers to adopt.

Manufacturer images, illustrations