Watch Hennessey's 745kW Jeep bakkie tear through the desert

Published Apr 8, 2020

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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.

IOL Motoring

Related Topics:

horsepower