Proton X90 Ute rendered by Theophilus Chin – double-cab unibody EV pick-up truck based on three-row SUV

With the debut of the Radar RD6 battery-electric pick-up truck in June last year, a zero-emissions lifestyle-focused pick-up truck has joined the wider Geely EV product range, and the announcement by Proton on Monday that it plans to introduce multiple models from the Geely portfolio opens the door to electric models such as this.

With that in mind, what might a Proton model based on the Radar RD6 turn out to be like? Visual rendering maestro Theophilus Chin has taken a digital knife to the EV pick-up truck, and uses cues from the recently announced Proton X90.

Here, the front end of the X90 has essentially been carried over to the double-cab pick-up body of the RD6, and the similar character lines over the front wheelarches means that there are some areas of commonality in the front half of both vehicles.

The rear end of the digital rendition was not shown, which should mean that the cargo section, tailgate and rear bumper sections of the Radar RD6 area carried over; what we can see is that the character lines over the rear wheelarches, too have been carried over untouched.

In fact, the RD6 has quite a bit in common with the X90; its interior is basically carried over from the three-row Proton SUV, including its widescreen instrument display and 12.3-inch central touchscreen.

Under the skin, the Radar RD6 is powered by a single-motor powertrain that outputs 272 PS, propelling the double-cab pick-up truck from 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. In China, three battery sizes are offered – 63 kWh, 86 kWh and 100 kWh, bringing maximum battery ranges of 400 km, 550 km and 632 km respectively.

The largest of these supports DC fast charging at up to 120 kW, with AC charging rated at up to 11 kW. Going in the other direction, the RD6 also features vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability to power external electrical applicances, as well as help recharge other EVs.

Cargo space is up to 1,200 litres in the cargo bed of the RD6, and the front trunk or ‘frunk’ houses a further 70 litres. According to unofficial sources, payload capability in the RD6 isn’t quite as expected of a pick-up truck as this employs unibody construction, as compared to a body-on-frame construction typical of combustion-engined pick ups.

What do you think, dear readers – would a BEV double-cab pick-up truck from Proton be an enticing prospect?

GALLERY: Radar RD6

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