Spotted a RARE 4x4, Bertone Freeclimber...

I visited a junkyard in the Luxembourg province, Belgium. The place wasn't very far from the borders of Luxembourg. In that junkyard I spotted a number of interesting cars, like couple of Matra Rancho, an Austin London taxi cab from the 60s or 70s, and even a 2000s Lincoln limousine.

But for me the most interesting find was the Bertone Freeclimber.

At first sight, I thought it was a Ssangyong or some South Korean 2-door 4x4, because of the excess round-edge design and twin headlights. Its funny, because it was right next to a Kia Retona 4x4. But upon closer inspection, I noticed the badge had "Bertone" written on it. On the side it was written "powered by BMW". The wheels looked very German to me, reminded me of something BMW or Mercedes would do, causing me to think it was a German 4x4.

After doing some research, I discovered it was actually an Italian 4x4. It was largely based on a Daihatsu Rugger, powered by a BMW engine, and redesigned to look more premium.

Bertone was an Italian company heavily involved in industrial design. They have been in business for a long time, but their current status is unclear to me. They never built a car under their brand name which rose to fame.

Now I was VERY curious about the origins of this abandoned Bertone Freeclimber. How did it end up here, who was its owner, the question list was endless. But then to be fair, many 4x4s met similar fates. Its not like its a collection car, or something one would dream of driving.

The 4x4 seems in good state, nothing was damaged, but it definitely looked as if it has been there for ages.