Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan is pretty well-known for a car collection that goes way beyond eccentric–it’s downright bonkers. His “Dhabiyan” truck in particular looks hilarious from any angle, but especially the back where you can see, yes, that appears to be approximately one tenth of a Dodge Dart.
Enhance...
Huh.
The cab is clearly a JK Jeep Wrangler Unlimited body, I think the “blinkers” are Ford Super Duty headlights, and I have no idea what’s going on with that unshapely sack below the license plate. As for the rest of the Rocketeer locomotive-looking thing, it’s a whole bunch of sheet metal grafted to what was once an Oshkosh M1075 military truck which is kind of like a big rig for war zones.
Once you learn that this truck is based on a platform that already had a huge number of enormous wheels, it’s a little easier to wrap your head around it. But still. The proportions are radical no doubt: more than 35 feet front-to-back, almost 11 feet tall and over eight feet wide according to the Sheikh’s Instagram.
If Hollywood ever comes up with a character who’s a mashup between Imperator Furiosa and Cruella DeVil, clearly, this would have to be cast as her car.
The Dhabiyan supposedly weighs 24 tons and is powered by a 15.2-liter Caterpillar C15 engine. Here’s a video of it lumbering around the desert to what sounds like a Marvel movie trailer soundtrack:
The Dhabiyan has been around for a couple years at least and is apparently at an off-road history museum in Al Madam, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates right now.
If you’re not familiar with the “Rainbow Sheik,” you owe it to yourself to check out his Instagram. The vehicles this guy messes with are so bonkers and creative and amazing and horrible that they’re difficult to describe, but delightful to look at. Wait for it:
His Highness has been collecting and commissioning all kinds of cars, but wacky off-road vehicles especially, for years. Check out this old Top Gear clip if you want to dig in a little more:
And of course there are plenty of amateur videos over the sheikh’s cars bizarre motor pool. Here’s a goodie:
If you made a three-way Venn diagram with circles for Wealthy, Into Trucks and Has Sense Of Humor, I guess Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan would land the middle.
Hat tip to Dante!