Pickup trucks have dominated the American vehicle market for decades. Many pickups are bought for personal use rather than as dedicated work trucks, so it has made sense for manufacturers to experiment with various lifestyle models, including some truly outrageous ones.
SUVs have been growing rapidly in the U.S. for much longer than 20 years, and they now dominate many mainstream segments. In fact, it has gotten so big that even supercar manufacturers, such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, have jumped on the bandwagon.
In this article, we’ll check out some of the craziest SUVs and trucks money can buy. These monsters either pack enough power and performance to keep up with sports cars, or they’re just plain ridiculous – some are both.
Shelby F-150 Super Snake
Over the years, Shelby transformed lots of already cool Ford Mustangs into proper beasts. Their work isn’t limited to muscle cars, though, as the tuning company has also created one of the most extreme aftermarket performance kits for the F-150 pickup truck.
Shelby basically turned the work truck into a muscle car and named it Super Snake. If you’re familiar with Shelby’s work, you already know that name is reserved for the brand’s most extreme creations. Under the hood, there’s a massive, supercharged V8 pumping out 770 angry horses. The Shelby F-150 Super Snake certainly isn’t a sleeper, as it has a new set of shiny wheels, lowered suspension, aero parts, racing stripes, and other goodies to make it stand out.
USSV Rhino GX
What do you get if you cross-breed an armored truck and an F-117 stealth bomber? I’m not sure that’s how they did it, but I think the result would look a lot like the USSV Rhino GX. At least, on the outside.
You may think it’s all very spartan and military-like inside, but open the bank vault-like doors, and you’ll realize you couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s soft leather, wood veneers, and highly polished finishes as far as the eye can see. The Rhino GX is built on the Ford F-450 platform, and it comes with a 6.7-liter diesel V8 or 6.8-liter gasoline V10. 4WD is standard, and the tires look like they can tackle some seriously rugged terrain.
Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
Nowadays, the Ford F-150 Lightning has become an EV, but its two predecessors were proper muscle trucks. For its second generation, the F-150 Lightning was powered by a supercharged V8, sending 380 American workhorses to the rear wheels.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a pickup truck that could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds wasn’t something you’d see every day.
Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6
Few vehicles are as ostentatious as the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6, and that says a lot! It basically started out as a top-spec Mercedes G-Class, then they added another rear axle and upped the wheel count to six. Its biggest claim to fame is that it’s very popular among the super-wealthy and has been spotted tearing up Middle Eastern deserts.
The G63 AMG 6×6 is massive, weighing nearly 8,500 lbs. Still, it’s no slouch, as it’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 with 536 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque. Of course, all that power is sent to all six wheels.
Holden HSV Maloo
Australians love their utes! If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a combination of a muscle car and pickup truck, and it really makes more sense than we’d like to admit. Back in the day, there were a few utes on the American market as well, such as the Chevy El Camino and Ford Ranchero.
In the land down under, the Holden HSV Maloo ute rules the roost thanks to its supercharged V8 engine with 580 hp and 546 lb-ft of torque, sent to the rear wheels via either a manual or automatic transmission, depending on the specific version.
Karlmann King
The Karlmann King is among the most extreme-looking SUVs we’ve ever laid eyes on, and it was, undoubtedly, styled to resemble a stealth fighter. I honestly wouldn’t even be surprised if they told me it’s invisible to police radars.
The King is built on the Ford F-550 chassis; if you haven’t seen one of those, let’s just say it’s massive. It is often quoted at over 13,000 lbs in armored form, and the Karlmann King is typically described as using Ford’s 6.8-liter V10 rather than a V8. Inside, it packs enough luxuries to rival a private jet, including amenities such as a retractable TV, refrigerator, pop-out tables, and a coffee machine.
Ford F-150 Raptor
Ford has built fast and powerful high-performance trucks for decades, but it’s fair to say that they really outdid themselves with the F-150 Raptor. The Blue Oval wanted it to be a street-legal version of an off-road racing trophy truck, and I think they succeeded at that.
The F-150 Raptor is currently in its third generation. The top-spec Raptor R uses Ford’s supercharged 5.2-liter V8, and Ford lists output at 700 hp and 640 lb-ft of torque.
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
It’s not just muscle cars that have benefitted from the Hellcat engine, even the fourth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee has one of those. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk looks like any other sensible everyday soccer mom SUV, but it produces a respectable 707 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful SUVs on the market.
Even with all that power, it’s still far from the fastest SUV money can buy, but at least it’s cheaper than the Ferrari Purosangue and Lambo Urus.
Hummer H1 Alpha
The Hummer H1 Alpha is the civilian version of the military Humvee, so it also comes with some added luxuries and creature comforts. Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps the most famous Hummer H1 owner, which some will think is strange since this behemoth is far from environmentally friendly.
Those who have a very active lifestyle will be happy to know that the civilian version retained the military version’s 16-inch ground clearance and helicopter hooks. Perfect if you need to venture off-road to reach the nearest Starbucks or want to drop it off at the lakeside cabin using the helicopter.
Shelby Baja Raptor
Few vehicles can match the Ford F-150 Raptor’s off-road prowess, but if that’s not hardcore enough, Shelby offers a solution in the form of the Baja Raptor, turning the truck’s off-road capabilities up to 11… or more.
The Baja Raptor features Fox Racing shocks, and Shelby also added some more off-roading gear, new styling details, and bed-mounted spare wheels. They also increased power, adding another 75 horses, because, well, why not?!
Chevrolet SSR
Over the years, there certainly hasn’t been a shortage of weird vehicles, but as far as trucks go, the Chevrolet SSR, or Super Sport Roadster, is right up there. Needless to say, it flopped spectacularly. This wasn’t the first convertible truck, but all the previous attempts had failed, so why would GM even think there was a market for one?
In all honesty, I think it was a marvelous creation. It could’ve been great if they hadn’t made it a drop-top. In the mid-2000s, retro styling was the way to go, it was somewhat sporty, and the rear wheels were driven by a V8 engine.
Lamborghini Urus
Lamborghini, makers of the most impractical, in-your-face supercars of all time, decided to jump on the SUV train. And they smashed it out of the park! Who would ever have thought that an SUV would be the best-selling Lamborghini ever? Sure, it uses components from the other SUVs under the Volkswagen umbrella, such as the V8 engine, but it looks and feels like a Lambo should.
The Urus’ bodywork resembles a scaled-up version of one of the brand’s supercars, and the interior has more luxuries than any of the other raging bulls. Thanks to the engine mentioned earlier, it also packs a serious punch and can launch to 60 mph in just over three seconds — that’s supercar quick! And it’ll tackle a variety of surfaces, including tarmac, gravel, sand, and snow.
Lamborghini LM002
The Urus actually wasn’t Lamborghini’s first attempt at building an SUV. In the 1980s, the Italians developed the LM002, commonly referred to as the Rambo Lambo.
This hairy-chested beast was powered by the same V12 heart as the legendary Countach. While the LM002 was absolutely massive, interior space was scarce, so in true 80s Lamborghini fashion, they just moved things around to make them fit, so nothing was where the driver would expect it to be.
Dodge RAM SRT-10
Seeing how many potentially cool cars have been completely ruined by bean counters, it’s amazing that Dodge decided it would be a great idea to drop the Viper’s 500-hp V10 into a pickup truck, and then their accounting department actually let them go through with it.
In 2004, the RAM SRT-10 set a world record as the fastest pickup truck ever made, managing an average speed of 154.587 mph during its run.
Hennessey Velociraptor 6X6
Mercedes isn’t the only company that has created a crazy 6×6 off-road truck. Hennessey, a Texas-based tuning company and carmaker, has built some 6×6 vehicles that are just as outrageous.
Most of us would be happy with a regular Ford F-150 Raptor, but apparently, there are people who feel it’s a bit tame. To help satisfy their needs, Hennessey will add an axle and give it some tweaks, resulting in the Velociraptor 6×6. It has Fox Racing shocks to make it capable off-road, and there’s a 600-hp twin-turbo V6 under the hood.
1969 Ford Ranchero GT 428 Cobra Jet
The Ranchero GT was a great vehicle, but Ford built thousands of those, making it hard to stand out from the crowd. The Ranchero GT 428 Cobra Jet is a whole different beast, and according to Hagerty, Ford only built a handful of 1969 Ranchero GTs specced with the 428 Cobra Jet V8.
This ute was more like a race car than a utility vehicle. One sold for more than $60,000 in 2018, so it’s doubtful that the owners will use them to haul stuff around these days.
GMC Syclone
I once knew a guy who had a GMC Syclone. He claimed it drank so much premium gas, he had to invest in oil companies to keep it running. It certainly wasn’t the most practical pickup truck of its era. In fact, it could only haul 500 lbs. One might almost question whether it was actually intended for work duty. Hint: It wasn’t!
This was an all-out performance vehicle. The GMC Syclone had a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 engine producing 280 hp under its hood, allowing it to keep up with some of the best sports cars at the time, including the Corvette and various European exotics.
GMC Typhoon
The GMC Typhoon was the Syclone’s SUV sibling. Both vehicles offered practically identical power and performance figures, which makes sense since they’re built on the same platform and have the same engine.
Whereas the Syclone was only available in black (not counting special editions), the Typhoon was offered in various exterior color configurations, but black on black remained the most common option. Only 4,697 Typhoons were built during the two-year production run.
Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible
Remember the convertible Chevy SSR truck from earlier? The Dodge Dakota was one of the preceding convertible pickup trucks that never became a success. Just because the mainstream buyer didn’t accept it doesn’t mean it’s uncool, though. Quite the opposite! The problem is that trucks need to be practical, and convertibles aren’t known for that… at all.
Dodge still gave it the old college try with the Dakota Sport Convertible, but it was a limited run conversion built by ASC for the 1989 through 1991 model years, making it a very rare pickup truck.
Dodge Lil’ Red Express
In 1978, Dodge kind of kicked off the whole performance truck scene when it created the Lil’ Red Express. This was right in the middle of the malaise era, which had effectively killed the performance car. However, Dodge exploited an emissions loophole that allowed certain light trucks to avoid catalytic converters in 1978.
According to Hot Rod, the Lil’ Red Express had a 360 V8 engine churning out 225 hp. It doesn’t sound like much today, but contemporary testing found it was one of the quickest American vehicles of its era, helped by that emissions loophole.
Aston Martin DBX707
We’ve already discussed how SUVs have taken such a massive chunk of the market that even traditional sports car companies have to get on board with them. It doesn’t matter whether you love or hate SUVs, there’s no denying that the Aston Martin DBX707 is an impressive piece of machinery.
In standard form, Aston’s SUV comes with a twin-turbo AMG V8 with 542 hp, but the high-performance DBX707 version has a whopping 697 horses. An engine like that, combined with what may be the most luxurious Aston Martin interior ever, means drivers and passengers are in for a treat.
Bowler EXR S
The Bowler Nemesis and EXR were built for rally raid competition, including events such as the Dakar Rally. They then decided to create a road-legal version of this monster SUV, and the world is a better place for it!
The EXR S is the road-going version. It has a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 mill borrowed from the Jaguar XKR, and it produces up to 600 hp. Like its motorsport equivalent, the EXR S has a tubular frame chassis, roll cage, 282mm travel suspension, and three-point harnesses.
Ferrari Purosangue
For years, Ferrari proclaimed we’d never see an SUV wearing a prancing horse badge, because that wouldn’t align with the company’s DNA. Then, the Italian carmaker did a complete 180 and built the Purosangue, but according to Top Gear, Ferrari claims it’s not an SUV. Apparently, it’s an FUV, or Ferrari Utility Vehicle. Riiiight, if you say so!
I can’t shake the image of Enzo spinning in his grave, he didn’t even want to build road cars. That said, the Purosangue is an excellent performance SUV. With a 715 hp, 6.5-liter V12, it offers all the performance we’d expect from a Ferrari, but in a practical and spacious package.
Ram 1500 TRX
Ram witnessed how Ford and its Raptor created a whole new segment without any competition, so it just had to build a truck to one-up the Blue Oval. It took a few years, but the result was worth the wait. Thanks to its 702-hp Hellcat V8, the Ram TRX can match the Ford Raptor R blow for blow.
Not that it really matters in an off-road truck, but Ram quoted 0 to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds, and independent testing has recorded as quick as 3.7 seconds. Top speed is limited to 118 mph. Those looking for more can give the friendly people over at Hennessey a call, and they will bump it up to 1,012 horses and 969 lb-ft of torque. Their Mammoth 1000 TRX package will get to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.