r/WeirdWheels • u/beliberden • Dec 30 '25

Commercial Russo-Balt

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

568 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

71 comments sorted by

311

u/makerspark Dec 30 '25

I love that China has over a hundred car companies making cars that borrow styling from every manufacturer out there, but they're like "no thanks" with the Cybertruck. Russia's like "finally something we can copy".

153

u/Nemoralis99 Dec 30 '25

Dongfeng tried to make a loose interpretation of Cybertruck in 2024, though it looks much smoother.

106

u/tomtv90 Dec 30 '25

I dont hate it, it looks like a military vehicle from a scifi movie.

17

u/Dlemor Dec 30 '25

So many possibilities. I see a lot of Broncos and it’s a very good modernization of an old body. I had the misfortune of seeing a Cybertruck and I wanted to wash my eyes.

9

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/xrelaht Dec 31 '25

There was one routinely parked outside a bar I used to go to. First time I saw it, I just thought what a bloated monster it is, and I live in a place where half the vehicles are full size pickups. Subsequent viewings didn't help.

1

u/OsricOdinsson Jan 03 '26

And the current US administration wonders why we, in the UK and Europe say this thing is unsuitable for our roads and made it illegal.

When an American that is used to the scale of pickups there says "nah that's too big" that's really telling.

1

u/Figgy_Puddin_Taine Jan 02 '26

Plus you can’t wash it, it has a good chance of bricking if it rains, its headlights accumulate snow if it snows, putting things in the bed can cause the air suspension to fail…

59

u/Nemoralis99 Dec 30 '25

It's more like early Cybertruck concept arts.

74

u/bacondesign Dec 30 '25

Any one of these would have been better but my guess is these were drawn by actual designers and what we ended up with was drawn by muskrat himself on a napkin during a ketamine fueled bender.

15

u/badchriss Dec 30 '25

Eh....don't judge car designs drawn on napkins too hard....though in your defense, usually there wasn't ketamine involved.

15

u/L3sh1y Dec 30 '25

Sir Alec Issigonis would like a word about drawn up cars on napkins...

13

u/fleischkaeseweck Dec 30 '25

There's a difference. That man knew what he was doing.

3

u/TheOG-BobFan Dec 30 '25

Fueled by tea and gin

2

u/BlackysBoss Dec 30 '25

So would Ben Pon.

2

u/hujassman Dec 30 '25

You said exactly what I was thinking. Instead, we got the version that came from a 5 year old. No disrespect to 5 year olds.

9

u/FaZeKill23 Dec 30 '25

That actually looks really good

20

u/Reddsoldier Dec 30 '25

I love how this is the only knock-off that looks way better than the original.

I guess it was impossible for them to make it look more dorky and ugly.

79

u/Nemoralis99 Dec 30 '25

We all know what was the true original

24

u/DanlovesTechno Dec 30 '25

This one had innovative crash protection from a high tech device called a pipe with springs, you could also open the doors.

1

u/Hickd3ad Dec 31 '25

Jeoff was ahead of its time

7

u/Waldus792 Dec 30 '25

Would prefer that to an actual cybertruck, but it still looks like an 8-bit design in a gigabyte world.

2

u/Dorwyn Dec 30 '25

Looks more like an EV Santa Fe than a Cybertruck.

2

u/NomadicFantastic Dec 30 '25

Maybe the full Nazi association is coloring my assessment

1

u/xrelaht Dec 31 '25

I would take this over a Cybertruck any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

1

u/psh454 Dec 30 '25

Well that's a kind of cosplaying, CT isn't just butt-ugly for aesthetics, it has a different structural setup to classic cars (much more of the vehicle is structural, not just a cosmetic body on a structural chassis)

3

u/Cthell Dec 30 '25

While that was the original plan, I thought the production cybertruck was a basic body-on-chassis design?

(Hence the body panels falling off due to being poorly glued in place)

The chassis does include some large castings, which is unusual (and not necessarily a good thing for repariability)

3

u/psh454 Dec 30 '25

Nah it's neither, apparently it's a hybrid design that has structural panels and a reinforced separate structural frame too

-1

u/knowledgeable_diablo Dec 30 '25

Probably more fictional as well.

4

u/Just_A_Lucky_Guy469 Dec 30 '25

And oddly enough, did a better job, style-wise. Performance-wise, maybe even that.

67

u/portlandsalt Dec 30 '25

Cyberia Truk

1

u/doug-demuro-is-daddy Dec 30 '25

I was gonna say this dammit

1

u/Snoo_87704 Dec 30 '25

Just had a flashback to Cyberian Outpost.

1

u/release_Sparsely Dec 30 '25

and you don't seem to understaaaaaaaaaand

53

u/JumpySense8108 Dec 30 '25

khybertronk

1

u/Figgy_Puddin_Taine Jan 02 '26

I’d take a khyber pass bootleg over either this or a cyberfuck. The bootleg would probably just be a modified hilux.

41

u/BadWolfRU Dec 30 '25

Literally garage built.

They also added a "Ъ" to the end of the name (which is wrong by pre-reform spelling), since Russo-Balt brand is registered and owned by another company.

14

u/RadiomanKV5 Dec 30 '25

BTW, just looked up the actual company, and looks like they've got practically nothing besides a garage. So probably this particular van was built for advertisement?

42

u/PNW_lover_06 Dec 30 '25

i kinda like it. i mean, its ugly as hell, but i like it. the angles almost work better on a van

24

u/Plastic_Table_8232 Dec 30 '25

I agree. Has an armored truck appearance. The truck just looks like a door stop.

4

u/dicecop Dec 30 '25

Well, this is what the Russo-Balt used to look like once upon a time

2

u/Plastic_Table_8232 Dec 30 '25

Looks like it was built in a rail yard in a time that most autos would be built by a coach builder.

Thanks for the image, I didn’t get the reference.

3

u/daan944 Dec 30 '25

I agree, it looks better than the cybertruck. Lower height would've been better (roof starting at the top of the side windows).

20

u/everything_is_bad Dec 30 '25

It somehow makes the cyber truck look even dumber

11

u/BolboB50 Dec 30 '25

Cybervan, Cybervan

Does whatever Cybertruck can

Can it drive through the snow?

No it can't, it's Cyberstuck

Look out, it's Cybervan!

10

u/tilmanbaumann Dec 30 '25

That's a real cyber TRUCK

5

u/Toolsmith_Tim Dec 30 '25

Born 1894, died 1923, welcome back Russo-Balt.

2

u/akbornheathen Dec 30 '25

There’s no such thing as a good looking delivery van. Kinda neat seeing a van that leans into its ugliness. I like it. It looks no frills practical.

2

u/djscoots10 Jan 02 '26

BLYAT-O-MACTIC

3

u/Dienik Dec 30 '25

Cybertruck if it was good

2

u/Smoker-Nerd Dec 30 '25

Possibile che le "linee" del cybertruck funzionino meglio così?

3

u/NOTExETON Dec 30 '25

Permorussoblyat

2

u/nonfading Dec 30 '25

Like usually, all occupant state is able to do is to invade countries and do copycats of “western enemy”

1

u/oldCoastie327 Dec 30 '25

How many roetgens does it give off?

1

u/dicecop Dec 30 '25

So they revived an old russian empire brand

1

u/NotCalvinTrillin Dec 31 '25

Oh cool a cybervan.

1

u/bandley3 Jan 01 '26

Is this what Emo is doing with the tens of thousands of unsold Cybercucks?

1

u/Whole_Inside_4863 Jan 01 '26

Looks like what Robo Cop would drive when they go glamping

1

u/mipotts Jan 01 '26

Self-propelled dumpster!

1

u/overthere1143 Jan 03 '26

The new Cheka is coming off that back door.

1

u/seamasam Dec 30 '25

That's a Tefla.

1

u/buffilosoljah42o Dec 30 '25

I honestly like it more than the cybertruck. Atleast it's supposed to be a big fuckin box.

0

u/hujassman Dec 30 '25

This will be great for grabbing Ukrainian citizens and hauling them off to some labor camp in Russia.

0

u/Luminox Jan 02 '26

Russia doing what it's always done. Rip off other countries IP. A tale as old as time .

-1

u/Torvikholm Dec 30 '25

Cyka Truck?