Pickup trucks have been the best-selling vehicles on the American market for decades, so it makes sense that manufacturers have built some outrageous models over the years. SUVs have only done well in the last 20 years but dominate the market now.
In fact, the SUV market has grown so much that even supercar manufacturers, like Lamborghini and Ferrari, decided they needed a piece of that pie. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the sickest SUVs and trucks money can buy. These either pack enough power and performance to rival sports cars, or they’re ridiculous – some are both.
Shelby F-150 Super Snake
The geniuses at Shelby created one of the most extreme aftermarket performance kits for the F-150. They’ve essentially turned it into a muscle car in a work-truck guise. Super Snake is the name Shelby has given its most extreme creations, so you know this truck is something special.
Pop the hood, and you’ll see a massive, supercharged V8 that pumps out 770 angry stallions. Shelby also gave it a new set of wheels, lowered suspension, and other goodies to make it stand out.
USSV Rhino GX
The Rhino GX looks like the result if an F-117 stealth bomber had a child with an armored truck. However, once you open its bank vault-like doors, you’ll notice it’s vastly more luxurious than those two. Inside, there’s a sea of soft leather, wood veneers, and highly polished finishes.
The Rhino GX is built on the Ford F-450 platform and is powered by a 6.7-liter diesel V8 or 6.8-liter gasoline V10. It comes with 4WD as standard, and the tires look like they can handle some seriously rugged terrain.
Ford F-150 SVT Lightning
Today, the F-150 Lightning is an EV, but its two predecessors were more old-school than that. The second-gen Lightning had a supercharged V8 that sent 380 wild horses to the rear wheels.
A pickup truck that could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds wasn’t something you’d see every day in the late-90s and early 2000s.
Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6
By now, practically every gearhead knows about the ostentatious Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6. Basically, they added another rear axle and upped the wheel count to six, and it became a popular vehicle for tearing up Middle Eastern deserts.
The G63 AMG 6×6 weighs nearly 8,500 lbs, but it’s no slouch thanks to a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 that sends 536 horses and 560 lb-ft of torque to all six wheels.
Holden HSV Maloo
Australians love their utes – a combination of a muscle car and pickup truck that makes more sense than we’d like to admit. Even the Americans had a few of these back in the day, in the form of 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 and manual transmission.
Karlmann King
The Karlmann King is one extreme-looking SUV, and undoubtedly, it was styled to resemble a stealth plane. We wouldn’t be surprised if it were invisible to the police radar.
The King is built on the Ford F-550 chassis, which means it’s massive. It weighs over 13,000 lbs, so it’s a good thing there’s a whopping 6.8-liter V8 engine to power it. Inside, it’s as luxurious as a private jet, and it offers amenities such as a retractable TV, refrigerator, pop-out tables, and a coffee machine.
Ford F-150 Raptor
Ford has a long history of making fast and powerful high-performance trucks, but they really outdid themselves with the F-150 Raptor. The Blue Oval brand intended it to be a street-legal version of an off-road racing trophy truck.
The F-150 Raptor is currently in its third generation, and a supercharged 5.2-liter Carnivore cross-plane powers the top-spec Raptor R crank V8. We think 720 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque is sufficient for most people’s needs.
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Mopar has shoved its Hellcat engine under the hood of more models than its popular muscle cars. The fourth-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of those. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk produces a respectable 707 horsepower, making it one of the most powerful SUVs on the market.
Even with all that power, it’s still not 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 based on the military Humvee but with some added luxuries and creature comforts. Arnold Schwarzenegger is perhaps the most famous Hummer H1 owner, which is weird since it’s far from environmentally friendly.
Those with a very active lifestyle will be happy to know that the civilian version still had the 16-inch ground clearance and helicopter hooks. Perfect for those who have to go off-road to get to the nearest mall or coffee shop.
Shelby Baja Raptor
As we’ve already mentioned, the Ford F-150 is a proper off-road beast, but if, for some reason, that’s not hardcore enough, Shelby has a solution. The Baja Raptor turns the Ford’s off-road capabilities up to 11.
The Baja Raptor has Fox Racing shocks, and Shelby also added some other off-roading gear, fancy styling details, and some bed-mounted spare wheels. Power was also increased by 75 horses because why not?!
Chevrolet SSR
The Chevrolet SSR, or Super Sport Roadster, is one of the weirdest trucks ever made. It flopped spectacularly as there really wasn’t a market for a retro-styled convertible truck, but in all honesty, it was also a marvelous creation.
Chevy’s SSR may have been less practical or sporty, but it did have rear-wheel drive and a V8 engine, and that’s always a good combo.
Lamborghini Urus
Who would’ve thought an SUV would be the best-selling Lamborghini ever? The engine may be the same V8 that’s found in other cars under the VAG umbrella, but the rest is unmistakably a Lambo.
The Urus’ bodywork resembles a scaled-up version of one of their supercars, and the interior is more luxurious than any of their other models. Thanks to the abovementioned engine, it packs a serious punch, scrambling to 60 mph in just over three seconds. Perhaps the best part is that it’s built to tackle a variety of surfaces, including tarmac, gravel, sand, and snow.
Lamborghini LM002
The Urus wasn’t Lamborghini’s first attempt at building an SUV. Decades earlier, they developed the LM002, popularly known as the Rambo Lambo.
This square-jawed beast had the same V12 heart as the iconic Countach. The LM002 may have been massive, but interior space was scarce, so in true 80s Lambo fashion, they just moved things around so nothing is where the driver would expect things to be.
Dodge RAM SRT-10
At some point, someone at Dodge thought it would be a great idea to put the 500-horsepower V10 from the Viper under the hood of a pickup truck. Don’t get us wrong, we love it, but it’s incredible that they actually went through with it.
The RAM SRT-10 set a world record in 2004 as the fastest pickup truck ever, with an average speed of 154.587 mph.
Hennessey Velociraptor 6X6
Mercedes isn’t the only company that’s built a crazy 6×6 off-road truck; American tuning company Hennessey has built some that are just as outrageous.
If you think the regular F-150 Raptor is a bit tame, you should consider giving Hennessey a call. The Texas-based tuner will then add an axle and some other goodies. The Velociraptor 6×6 has Fox Racing shocks on all six wheels and a 600-horsepower twin-turbo V6 under the hood.
1969 Ford Ranchero GT 428 Cobra Jet
The Ranchero GT was excellent, but Ford built thousands of those. The Ranchero GT 428 Cobra Jet is a whole other beast. Only 11 1969 Ranchero GTs were specced with the 428 Cobra Jet V8.
This ute was more race car than utility vehicle. Seeing as one sold for more than $60,000 in 2018, we don’t think anyone would consider using them to haul stuff around these days.
GMC Syclone
The GMC Syclone certainly wasn’t its era’s most practical pickup truck – it could only haul 500 lbs. Perhaps it was never intended for work duty?
With a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 engine producing 280 hp under its hood, the GMC Syclone could 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. Power and performance were practically identical as well, which makes sense since it’s the same platform and engine.
Unlike the Syclone (not counting special editions), the Typhoon was available with various exterior color configurations, but black on black was still the most common option. Only 4,697 Typhoons were built during its two-year production run.
Dodge Dakota Sport Convertible
The Dodge Dakota is another convertible pickup truck that never became a success, but that doesn’t mean it’s not cool. The problem is that trucks need to be practical, and convertibles aren’t practical at all.
Dodge gave it the old college try with the Dakota Sport Convertible, but it shut down production after two years, making this a very rare pickup truck.
Dodge Lil’ Red Express
Dodge kind of started the whole performance truck thing when they built the Lil’ Red Express in 1978. This was during the height of the malaise era, but trucks didn’t need catalytic converters, so Dodge took advantage of that loophole.
The Lil’ Red Express had a 360 V8 engine that produced 225 horsepower. It may not sound like much today, but it was one of the fastest vehicles sold in the States in 1978.
Aston Martin DBX707
SUVs have taken such a massive chunk of the automotive market these days that even traditional sports car companies had to jump on the bandwagon. Whether you hate SUVs or love them, there’s no denying that the Aston Martin DBX707 is pretty impressive.
Aston’s SUV has a twin-turbo AMG V8 that produces 542 horsepower as standard, but the high-performance DBX707 version comes with 697 horses. Couple that engine with what may be the most luxurious Aston Martin interior ever, and you’re in for a treat.
Bowler EXR S
Bowler’s Nemesis / EXR was built to dominate the world’s toughest race: the Paris-Dakar rally. So, it made perfect sense to create a road-legal version of this indestructible monster SUV.
The EXR S is that road-going version, and it features a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 from the Jaguar XKR that produces up to 600 hp. Like its motorsport equivalent, it has a tubular frame chassis, roll cage, 282mm travel suspension, and three-point harnesses.
Ferrari Purosangue
Ferrari claimed they would never make an SUV, as that wouldn’t align with the company’s DNA. Then, just a few years later, they did a complete 180 and built the Purosangue. Enzo is probably spinning in his grave – he didn’t even want to build road cars.
The Purosangue is an excellent performance SUV, though. Thanks to a 715 horsepower, 6.5-liter V12, it has the performance we’d expect from a Ferrari, but in a practical body and with a spacious interior.
Ram 1500 TRX
Ram had to build a truck that would shut up Ford and their Raptor, and so they created the TRX. The Ram TRX matches the Raptor R’s power thanks to its 702-horsepower Hellcat V8. 0 to 60 mph is dealt with in just 3.7 seconds and has a limited top speed of 118 mph.
If that’s not enough, our friends over at Hennessey will extract 1,012 horses and 969 lb-ft of torque for you. Their Mammoth 1000 TRX will get to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.
