1994-1995 - CREA Casablanca

Crea - 1994 / Pick-up - 1995

In 1994, Franco Sbarro opened his second training center, CREA, in Casablanca, Morocco. It was in Morocco that the small Crea pick-up was born, a vehicle adapted to North African countries. Simple, inexpensive, easy to maintain - in short, indestructible!

The CREA pick-up could be fitted with a lid on the bed to transform it into a van.

A royal request

Hassan II, King of Morocco at the time, was a loyal customer of Franco Sbarro. His Rolls-Royce Camargue Hunting car was transformed for falcon hunting. Having heard of the creation of the Espace Sbarro in Switzerland, the King wished to have the same thing in his country. So a brand-new building, designed by architect Larichi, was built in the middle of the desert. These premises house the CREA, Centre de Recherche et d'Engineering de l'Automobile. Under the aegis of Franco Sbarro and eight of his students, who, in addition to their training in Switzerland, are learning to become trainers for Morocco. In 1995, a small pick-up based on the Renault 4 is designed.

Does this model have a small grille? In some photos, the pickup doesn't have a grille (perhaps the first prototypes).

More practical learning

In the early days, most of CREA's training courses focused on the Renault 4, a car that was very popular in Morocco at the time. There was no question of designing concept cars or high-end prototypes. CREA still exists today, but I don't think Franco Sbarro plays any part in it any more, as his initial contract with CREA was for three years.
As for the pick-up, information is hard to come by. Based on a Renault 4, with a composite body, the car looks simple and minimalist. The choice of the R4 chassis was conditioned by the fact that it is self-supporting and robust. But the end of R4 production posed a problem in terms of parts availability. The use of second-hand parts was considered. Studies were then carried out based on the Fiat Uno. Four versions were planned: utility pick-up or van with windows for passenger transport or without windows for goods transport.
Thirty-two trainees were planned for the first year, with an eleven-month training course. I have not found any further data or information.

In brief
1- CREA founded in 1994
2- Study of a pick-up based on the Renault 4
3- Little information available
    Chronology - 1994
  • 1994 - Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 sportwagon
  • 1994 - Pick-up CREA
  • 1994 - Oxalys
    • Main sources
    1- Text by Leïla Triki, published on August 11, 1994 on mobile.leconomiste.com (now defunct).
    2- Site AutoScout.ch at the time a pickup was sold (I didn't note the date at the time)
    3- Book "Franco Sbarro / Concept car" by Fabian Sbarro
  • Renault 4 four-cylinder engine
  • Displacement: 956 cm3
  • Front-wheel drive
  • Weight approx. 800 kg