Renault Alaskan production model leaks out ahead of reveal

New pick-up truck will be officially shown later this week; this early glimpse confirms it retains the design of the Alaskan concept

This picture of the Renault Alaskan has been leaked onto aGreek website ahead of the model's official reveal later this week.

The image confirms the production model looks very similar to the concept it is based on (which was revealed last year and is shown in our gallery). It's not due to go on sale until next year.

The production Alaskan will be the company’s first global pick-up and will be built alongside equivalents from Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, the latter of which is due by 2020. The production Renault and the Mercedes will share some of their architecture with the Nissan NP300 Navara, although both companies will engineer and design their own final versions to keep their identities intact.

The one-ton Alaskan concept came with 21in wheels, full LED lighting, satin-effect paint and brushed and polished metal finishes on the exterior. While there will undoubtedly be some changes, many features look set to be retained in the final model.

Despite its commercial vehicle nature, Renault is pitching the Alaskan at the private leisure-focused user. As well as what Renault describes as high-quality interior standards and space for five in the cabin, the Alaskan concept came with a camera located in the door mirror to film the passing landscape, and an optional selection of accessories such as a load bed liner and cover were on the car's theoretical options list.

The Alaskan concept came with the 163bhp 2.3-litre 163hp twin-turbo diesel that features in the Master van, and it's thought this engine is likely to remain in the production model. Although there are no official performance figures quoted for the Alaskan, the engine is capable of a claimed combined economy figure of 40.4mpg in the Master.

Speaking to Autocar at the reveal of the Alaskan concept last year, Renault design boss Laurens van den Acker said: "As a design challenge, I Ioved it. You can imagine the reaction in the design studio every time we pulled the covers off it - a large French pick-up is unheard of.

"To design something with no history behind it, with nothing to lose and with every potential customer a conquest was a joy. I loved it. From my experience with Ford in the US I was the only one in the entire team who had any experience if doing a pick-up and that brought a great freedom to the project."