JK Forums’ Unsolved Mysteries: the IMC Piccolino
Welcome to another installment of JK Forums’ Unsolved Mysteries, a selection of off-the-wall, weird, or mysterious items from the world of Jeep. We’ll be bringing you things you’ve likely never heard of or seen, that take your breath away, or just plain make you say, “What the hell?” Our next item is one that will make you question the idea that the CJ-1 Jeep is too small. Rather, it will make you wonder how small you can make a Jeep. We bring you the 1987 IMC Piccolino.
Now, we don’t have much in terms of information on the Piccolino. Basically all we can tell you we get from the brochure above, which comes care of Autolit on eBay. Apparently the itty-bitty “Jeep” was a “joint-venture” between Italian, Swiss, and French engineers with IMC.
The Piccolino used a 650cc Ruggerini Diesel engine, which looks like it was also used in Harris Matchless motorcycles. Ruggerini was first bought out by Lombardini, which then was bought by Kohler in 2007. It was offered in America when it came out, and was intended for use by golf courses, rental agencies, hotels, parachute units, and “for Mercedes owners,” whatever that means.
The little Jeep wanna-be utilized a two-wheel drive system using a Variator, much like you see in UTVs and golf carts now. But most interesting was the use of a four-wheel disc brake system. The 1987 YJ Wrangler didn’t even have four-wheel disc brakes, though the YJ did break 60MPH, where the Piccolino didn’t.
How many were sold in the U.S., if at all? We don’t know. Like I said, we don’t know much. So if you have any information about the Piccolino, please help us solve this mystery.