If you hate outward visibility but love killing little old ladies just crossing the street, the U.S. has plenty of giant trucks and SUVs for you to pick from. However, if you want something smaller and easier to drive that still has a truck bed, your options are really just the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Both are still pretty big, though, and neither one offers a two-door option. The good news is, you need not despair. Instead, you can just buy this Protege-based Ballistic Unlimited MazdaSpeed
TranSport that was originally built for SEMA and is now listed on eBay.
Now, you probably won't be able to tow a train up a mountain with this build, but how many people actually tow trains with their trucks? Exactly. And yeah, the bed is pretty small and currently filled with NOS tanks, so you won't be able to put much back there. Nor would it be easy to load stuff in there anyway, with the wing in the way and all that. And without a back seat, there's also only room for one passenger, but come on. This is America. We don't buy trucks to do truck stuff. We buy trucks to look cool, and this build is infinitely cooler than any Dodge Ram ever was.
OK, maybe the Ram SRT-10 was almost as cool, since it had a V10, but even the coolest SRT-10 still looks like a regular Ram with a cool engine. This Protege, meanwhile, doesn't look anything like any other Protege you've seen on the road. It's also probably greener than any Protege you've ever seen, and if there's one thing Jalopnik loves, it's green cars.
Read more: The Best-Looking Pickup Trucks Ever Sold, According To Our Readers
2000s Throwback
As far as the build itself goes, you're looking at a 2002 Mazda Protege5 that Pro Design HotRods turned into a sport truck for the 2005 SEMA show. And it isn't just painted green. It's painted House of Kolor Limetime Green. Inside, the cabin is so mid-2000s SEMA, it hurts, but on the other hand, who couldn't use a little nostalgia these days? Also, I bet "American Idiot" sounds incredible coming out of that sound system. You know, because the band is Green Day, and the car is green? No other reason.
Sadly, I can't find a specific horsepower figure, however, one of the listing's images does say it has "an exhaust note that sounds as if it is emanating from something with twice as many cylinders and three times the displacement." So that's pretty neat. I don't know if I believe them, but you never know. Maybe they really did figure out how to make a turbocharged 2.0-liter Mazda four-cylinder sound like a 6.0-liter V8. Even with the NOS, though, don't expect this front-wheel-drive Protege to beat a lot of the latest EVs off the line. The early-to-mid 2000s was a different time, and even 300 hp was a lot of power back then.
Of course, this is a 20-year-old SEMA build, and SEMA builds aren't exactly known for their quality when they're new, so there's no telling how much work will need to be redone or what will need to be fixed. The seller does say it "is not in pristine show condition" and "is sold as is and needing some work" but promises "it could be restored to its show quality fairly easily." So at least there's that. It also isn't cheap, with a Buy It Now price of $28,900, but you could probably low-ball them and see what they say. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You end up owning a sweet 2000s Mazda Protege truck? Oh no, that sounds terrible.
H/T: CarScoops
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
