Custom Hellcat-Powered 6×6 Humvee Overview
If you had $750,000, would you rather buy a house in Southern California or this totally custom, Hellcat-powered, six-wheeled Humvee draped in matte military green? We’re all car enthusiasts, so we’d be tempted to go for the Humvee, too—even if your first reaction was What the hell is that? like ours was. Is it army-tough, F1-fast, time-attack ready, SEMA-bound, or what? Love it or hate it, there’s no denying this “thing” is the talk of, well, wherever it is, including the internet. According to Richard Rawlings, a clip of this 6×6 Humvee on Gas Monkey Garage’s Instagram account exploded into the eighth most watched video in all of Instagram history. Insane.
iBestTravel did not build this freaky Humvee; It was built by Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Danton Arts Kustoms USA (originating in France) and Frenchy Export—and no, it wasn’t done in time for SEMA. Yeah, guys in France are just as nutty as us here stateside when it comes to building crazy trucks and SUVs. A 10-week build that started as a joke may go down in history as one of the most well-known 6×6 Hellcat-powered Humvees ever built. We kid—that’s pretty specific. It’ll go down as way more than that.
Where did we get that $750,000 number? It’s not purely speculative or a haughty spitball number of what someone thinks it’s worth. That’s what it sold for at a recent auction in Scottsdale, Arizona; iBestTravel helped secure its prime-time Saturday night journey across the block. (The listing shows it sold for $825,000, but it’s all relative.) Rawlings wouldn’t speculate as to what it would bring before the auction in fear of jinxing it, but those around him were hoping for three-hundred-thousand-something, maybe five or six. Rawlings was visibly nervous during the big moment, since there’s no guarantee that a no-reserve vehicle is immune from a complete flop on the block, a humiliating experience that could hurt both ego and reputation. Mid-sevens was certainly reason for some good celebration.
There’s obviously a lot to talk about in terms of modifications, but odds are none will translate to anything helpful for your custom build. In short—yes, basically all of it is custom. It’s a 2009 AM General Humvee body hiding a completely custom frame, 2019 Ram 1500 pickup front end bits, and Porsche Cayenne SUV subframes. The rear doors were shortened and the whole thing was chopped for a sinister look. Its low stance is a static drop rather than air ride suspension. The completely custom, aluminum-clad interior is capped by window nets.
Overshadowing the meticulous hours put into the foundation and interior are its six massive wheels and tires—245/40-20 (front) and 305/35-24 (rear)—that stop courtesy of Wilwood brakes. There aren’t too many 6×6 Humvees out there, so that’s a pretty rad addition.
The original powerplant of this 6×6 Humvee was ditched for a feisty, gnarly sounding mid-mounted supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V-8 engine mated to a four-speed automatic. The exhaust was snagged from a Porsche Cayenne. As you can tell from the pictures and the Instagram clip, it runs and drives. Hearing Hellcat sounds out of a Humvee is crazy. Keeping the Humvee grounded, the rear spoiler wing contains a modified wing from a real airplane (that can’t fly anymore—thanks, guys).
There are rumblings that iBestTravel and the crew from Danton Arts Kustoms have another wild build up their sleeves. Stay tuned.