ARO 10 Super Rally
1999 ARO 10 Super Rally – Old World Off-Road
There's a whole 'nother world out there.
Here in North America, off-roaders have become the new royals on our roads, and revered / reviled for their thousands uses. As trucks, utility vehicles, family wagons, military transport, you name it.
In the U.S., the Jeep Wrangler is it for many.
Now.
Imagine the Wrangler or Ford Bronco evolved not in the wide open expanses of the U.S., but in Eastern Europe…
Civilian versions of the ARO 10 and 24 • via ARO, source unknown
In Romania specifically, a company named ARO began producing vehicles in the late '50s, adapting GAZ designs.
Fast forward to 1972, and the at-arm's-length Communist automaker had not only an all-new design, the 24, but would soon figure out how to export ARO models into Western Europe.
The resulting ARO 24 is, well, incredibly confusing.
The Italian ACM OFF (seriously), which became the first Dacia Duster. Laugh, but Dacia is the one with a gorgeous new car and all-star driver lineup about to compete in the Dakar Rally in early 2025… • scans via Car Brochure Addict on X
One look at its Wikipedia page will prove ARO off-roaders were sold in countless variants, in many regions, with little to no official history preserved.
To make things even more exciting, the most interesting versions of the 24 are often the exported ones. (That said, the one made for Nicolae Ceaușescu was sky blue and loaded with chrome.)
The ARO 24 was eventually even revamped in order to be sold in the U.S. as late as 2006(!)
The Cross Lander 244X would have been a cut-price Land Rover Defender competitor, but even after years of development and investment, it didn't work out.
Apparently, the 24 was incredible off-road, though "build" and "quality" were two benchmarks that hadn’t yet infiltrated Romania.
Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Germany did get the off-roader, however, under the names Portaro, Hisparo, ACM and, uh, ARO. France got it, too. The Italian ACMs were notable for being both assembled in Italy and being slightly better-looking, on account of the prettier four square port holes that had been added to the hood and exciting vinyl graphics stuck on the side.
Early 2000s (ARO) Cross Lander 244X • via ARO
Under the hood in Romania, at least initially, was a Renault-sourced 4-cylinder, but since…let's just say it's been powered by many different engines, from gasoline to diesel, and even a few Cosworth variants thrown in for good measure.
I'm not kidding: the 24 across its family of derivatives has seen engines from Volkswagen, Ford, Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan, Volvo, Daewoo, and Daihatsu in addition to the two mentioned above.
Plus a few oddball engines from the likes of Perkins, Pegaso, and Ebro.
Following? Good, ’cause I’m not.
Well, there was also an ARO 10, a rugged vehicle slightly smaller than the 24 but still somewhat related to it. As this was phased out, versions of the 24 were downsized and renamed 10.
This 1999-ish ARO 10 Super Rally is one of those. (A 24, but called a 10).
ARO 10 Super Rally • source unknown
I read from sources that the Super Rally was first developed with a 3.0-litre Ford Cosworth V6 (bought from where I have no idea), the version from the clips below had a 3.4-litre Toyota VZ V6, like you'd find in a 4Runner. Built by privateers, it's apparently still out there, somewhere…
Why bother with this particular off-roader? Thing is, the Super Rally absolutely slays — at least on film it does.
Imagine if theWrangler had been developed to tackle tarmac and off-road situations like this Super Rally "Raid"-style ARO can.
Wait a second — did I just discover something a Wrangler can’t do?
READ NEXT: ARO USA actually has a Facebook page. Car Brochure Addict on X posted about the ACM from Italy.
michael banovsky
Another Romanian car, the Oltcit Club 11R
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