Spy Photo of Hyundai’s Upcoming Santa Cruz Pickup Surfaces, Showing Bare Unibody

• This is the first spy photo of the Hyundai Santa Cruz pickup in which it isn’t wrapped in camo.
• The image of the bare body of the truck gives us clues to its design which pretty much aligns with Car and Driver‘s rendering of the upcoming vehicle.
• The Santa Cruz is more of a lifestyle pickup than a workhorse hauling machine and will compete directly with the Honda Ridgeline.

Spy photos of cars on tracks are the norm. Spy photos of the naked yet-to-be-unveiled body of a pickup being hauled by a forklift? Those are less common. But that’s how the world has gotten its first peek at the unibody Santa Cruz pickup without the heavy camo the Korean automaker has draped the vehicle in during testing.

An anonymous Motor1 reader shared this image of the Santa Cruz, and it was subsequently picked up by the Korean Car Blog and others.

The less than ideal situation of a vehicle’s bare body being hauled around by a forklift does allow us a peek at the design of the truck that lines up with our rendering of the vehicle (above).

2021 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Hyundai Santa Cruz Truck Starts Production in 2021

Based on the Santa Fe SUV, the Santa Cruz is expected to go into production in 2021 and cost about $25,000. It’ll be less of a powerhouse capable of hauling huge loads and more of a lifestyle vehicle for those more interested in outdoor activities and runs to Home Depot than they are in dragging a boat or horse trailer. Its closest competitor is the Honda Ridgeline, but it’ll also bump up against the Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, and Toyota Tacoma.