Yes, We Spotted this Mercedes-Benz Unimog on the Street

The Mercedes-Benz Unimog has been made things over the years: a lawnmower, a snow-thrower, an army tow truck, a fire truck, an ambulance, an excavator, and several dozen other things.

But can it be a daily-driven pickup truck in the US?

As our photo suggests, yes it can.

The Unimog itself, despite having worn a three-pointed star for more years than we can count, did not actually start out in life as a Mercedes-Benz or Daimler Truck model of any sort.

In fact, the model was developed by a small automaker called Boehringer Bros., based in Göppingen, Germany, and was shown in Frankfurt in 1948 at a tractor show called Deutschen Landwirtschaftsgesellschaft.

The model was first conceived as a four-wheeled agricultural tractor that could carry a variety of attachments, while also being quick enough to keep up with road traffic of the time when needed. The list of requirements was rather long for engineer Albert Friedrich, and on top of everything it also had to carry some cargo.

The resulting truck took its name from Universal-Motor-Gerät, or universal motorized vehicle, and was first shown to the public in 1947, a year before its big debut in Frankfurt.

Production of the first model, dubbed Unimog 70200 and powered by Daimler's OM 636 diesel engines paired with six-speed gearboxes, began in Göppingen in 1948, with 600 units leaving the factory during the first year.