Strange Vehicles > Fiat Panda 4x4 Monster Truck
Surprisingly, this epic fusion of compact hatchback and rock crawler is not the work of some slightly deranged gearhead with too much time on his hands. It is actually the result of a collaboration between Fiat and Mercurio Cinematografica. Up top is a Fiat Panda 4x4, while below is some highly modified running gear from a Jeep CJ7.
Standing 3.9 metres (12.8 feet) tall, the vehicle took just two weeks to build. Fiat say the most difficult part of the build was in connecting the steering system, clutch, accelerator and brakes between the two cars.
Understandably you may be wondering why Fiat would commission such an outrageous vehicle. Well that's because this particular monster Panda was used in a TV commercial which aired in 2013. Created by the Leo Burnett ad agency, it tells the story of four friends who set off for a weekend in the mountains. The Panda 4x4, transforming into a Monster Truck, climbs nimbly up to the hostel, stunning everyone with its performance. And when the driver, thinking he is in a normal Panda 4x4, gets down from the car, he ends up falling two metres onto a cushion of snow, to the laughter of his friends.
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