Everyone gets a window seat with these funky 10-door Suburbans
A pair of bizarre Suburban shuttles are up for bid in Kyoto, Japan, and there’s less than a day left to pick up one, or both, of these strange, lengthy SUVs.
The duo, consisting of an ‘83 and an ‘87, can be found on Yahoo Japan and are each powered by a 454 V-8 and three-speed transmission—presumably a Turbo 400. Each has five doors per side and seats 10 people. The auction claims that these vehicles represent two of the total four built in such a configuration. We can’t verify that claim, but they’re no doubt rare enough to get people turning (scratching?) their heads wherever they go.
The Suburbans have extensions grafted onto their roofs, just like you’d expect to see on a conversion van. These, however, appear to be just additional luggage room, rather than head room, as there are several access doors on each side and one at the rear. That’s appropriate considering their use as airport shuttle vehicles. In addition to the extra length and height, both Suburbans seem to be converted to use dual rear wheels. We’ve seen mid-century American wagons stretched to add an extra set of doors or two, with similar luggage accommodations, but this is perhaps the largest airport shuttle of its kind that we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, both of these uber-Burbans seem to have been parked for ages, so they’re both in a rather sad state of neglect.
Neither super-sized SUV has received any bids, and the starting bid of one million Yen, or just over $9000, makes it a bit of a gamble to take on such a strange, ungainly project. But imagine the possibilities! In case you were wondering, a 454-powered ’87 Suburban is worth $5400 in #4 (Fair) condition. We’re having a hard time coming up with a personal use case for such a huge beast, but hopefully someone will find a way to bring these two back to life.
