U.S. Specialty Vehicles is offering a rebody for the Ford Super Duty that effectively turns the pickup into an oligarch assault vehicle. Not sure about its actual war readiness but it’s certainly going to scare the hell out of your neighbor’s Range Rover.
The Rhino GX is brought to us by the same outfit that’s rebodying Jeep Wranglers into the Hummer HX (or is that an FJ Cruiser?)-looking Rhino XT. A truck I earnestly thought was vaporware until I saw, yes, there’s a real one alright!
I redact my previous doubts, and I will say it looks even cooler in photos than it did as a render.
Anyway the GX is real too. At least one crop of them was under construction and whoa mama, they’re real big.
USSV says that body is handmade, made from “dual 20 gauge cold steel layers.” That’s apparently about .04” thick and 1.7 pounds per square foot.
Inside looks like a doomsday prepper’s take on Ford’s King Ranch motif; lots of wood and soft surfaces wrapped over big angular chunks.
The Rhino GX Sport reportedly sells for $165,000 and a full-fat version with more decoration gets closer to $200,000. The plushest F-250s are already about $70,000, so you can call the USSV conversion an extremely comprehensive remodel at about $90,000.
That’s a pretty solid bargin if you’re cross-shopping it with an MRAP for your weekend warriormobile. A new Ford Super Duty would be easier to drive too, and this one looks a lot more comfortable than any military-issue vehicle I’ve ever sat in.
So if you want a “new Ford Excursion” your options are pretty much one of these or John Hennessy’s 650 horsepower VelociRaptor. (Suddenly I kind of want a new Ford Excursion.)
The thing looks pretty much perfect. I mean, I’d be pretty embarrassed to ride around in it but it sure is something spectacular to behold. They absolutely nailed “tough-looking pseudomilitary SUV.” Can we get this thing a role in the next Fast And Furious please? I’ll be completely sold as soon as I see Dwayne Johnson driving it.
Images via U.S. Specialty Vehicles
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