Watch Hennessey's 745kW Jeep bakkie tear through the desert
Sealy, Texas - Hennessey Performance has come up with a way to make the lockdown blues a little easier, at least for the next two minutes.
The Texas-based extreme tuner has released a new video of its 745kW Jeep Gladiator bakkie tearing through the dunes in a desert test of the brutal bakkie with a Hellcat heart.
The Hennessey Maximus 1000, as it’s dubbed, is powered by a heavily modified version of Fiat Chrysler’s 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engine, and in this form it produces 745kW.
Think of it as a Raptor on steroids.
To give it the legs it needs for some serious high-speed off-roading, the Maximus 1000 is equipped with an off-road suspension system with a 15cm lift kit as well as Hennessey 20-inch wheels with KD Off-Road tyres.
“We wanted to create the ultimate Jeep Gladiator,” said company founder and self-proclaimed chief horsepower evangelist, John Hennessey.
“Maximus 1000 - the name says exactly what it is: Badassery on 4-wheels."
Hennessey said his clients wanted exclusive and extreme vehicles that deliver an exciting driving experience both on and off-road:
“What other vehicle can climb to the top of Aspen Mountain with a KTM dirt bike in the back in the morning and then run 0-60mph (96km/h) in 3.9 seconds at the dragstrip later the same day?”
Sadly, the Maximus 1000 is for US consumers only, and production will be limited to just 24 units, each at a cost of $200 000, which is R3.64 million at today’s exchange rate.
Want to see more of it? The video below shows the Maximus 1000 strutting its stuff on a drag strip.