Trucking hell is unleashed by Hennessey with its faintly ridiculous Mammoth
American automotive excess has reached its ultimate acme, reports Iain Robertson, as he gains stepladder access to the biggest, fastest and baddest pickup truck of them all, grateful that its numbers will be strictly limited and that UK sales will be unlikely.
Performance addicts are a strange breed. When they emanate from across the Atlantic, they can be even stranger. North America has been a hotbed of hyperformance since the days of either gun, or hooch-running, much of which occurred during its period of prohibition, at which time the prospect of out-performing State Troopers assumed immoral but also anti-heroic levels. A slew of back street modifiers took American iron and raised both handling and straight-line speed potential by big enough margins to create legendary motoring landmarks.
The Americans have a long-held penchant for large capacity V8 petrol engines and considerably before the more refined, perhaps even prissy European hot saloon and hotter hatchback scene was developed, they desired disturbingly raucous propulsion. It was an unsophisticated, sleeveless plaid shirted category of automotive excess, with vain boasts of 500hp that were often nearer to 300hp but no less satisfying for the real male dominated sector of gun-racks, bottled beer, bourbon stills and country music. As long as it was accompanied by an earth-shattering soundtrack and tyre-melting potential, it was okay.
US classics, like the Pontiac GTO, Dodge Charger and even the Ford Mustang Mach 1, which now command high six-figure telephone number valuations, grew from the mad, bad thirties and post-WW2 austerity like beacons of hope. Yet, they were staunchly American, developed without reference to possible European rivals and partners, while being eminently suited to arrow-straight blacktop and countless miles of unpaved roadways. Wider grilles and even wider rear wings had been par for the course during the 1950s, whale-like proportions epitomised by wallowing under-damped suspension and yowling crossply tyres, despite intriguing innovators such as Tucker, Avanti and Corvette.
The pickup truck scene grew like Topsy, matched magically to the Great Outdoors adventure and a level of motoring freedom largely unknown on our side of ‘the Pond’. With petrol costing less than sugar-filled soft drinks, gas-guzzlers reigned supreme. Yet, fuel crises and federal taxation would make their presence felt over the subsequent decades. The frugality of Euro and Jap-tin gained appeal, even though a lot of it was fragile and not well-suited to downpour-rutted back doubles. However, their impact would be sizeable throughout the latter decades of the Old Millennium.
When John Hennessey commenced his motor modifying journey in 1991, it grew off the back of his fascination for events such as Pikes Peak, Daytona and Bonneville Salt Flats, where he claimed a class record. He appreciated imports but it was his bi-turbo, 1,000hp V10 Dodge Viper that garnered the attention of both manufacturer and performance addicts. The Hennessey name today is synonymous with high-performance.
From its base in Sealy, Texas, the Hennessey empire comprises Hennessey Special Vehicles, Hennessey Performance (HPE), Tuner School, and the Lonestar Motorsports Park. The company has re-engineered more than 12,000 vehicles for performance enthusiasts and boasts its own hypercars, the Venom GT and the Venom F5. Its relationship with Dodge is not exclusive and it also deals with Chevrolet, Ford and Jeep, warranting its vehicles accordingly.
Based on the Dodge RAM 1500 TRX pickup that is hardly a slouch, with access to over 700bhp and a mountain of torque, the latest Mammoth TRX adds a supercharger to the 6.2-litre V8, as well as a raft of go-faster items that hike the power to 1,012hp, with a stump-pulling 969lbs ft of torque. The mods are enough to slash an already zippy 0-60mph sprint to a mere 3.2s and enough to create the US desire for consistent ¼-mile times in 11.2s, achieving a speed in excess of 120mph. When asked why bother, John Hennessey is unequivocal in his response, because he can!
Mammoth’s dimensions are perfect for North America’s wide-open spaces at 5.81m long, 2.09m wide and 1.97m tall, the imposing hypertruck makes a huge on-road statement. Its cabin is spacious enough for up to six adults, while its load deck can carry almost a tonne of payload. However, its towing capacity, in excess of 7,700lbs, makes Mammoth the most capable load-lugging and performance truck on the market. It is not cheap and, including buying the stock TRX model, owners will pay in the region of $150,000 (£108,000) for their build. The majority of owners will take a highly specified model and, then, add the Mammoth 1000 package and the Stage 2 off-road enhancements. The popular Stage 2 package adds custom bumpers, LED lights, a front levelling kit, 37-inch off road tires and upgraded electronic fold-out steps. A complete turnkey package, it also comes with a two year/24,000ml warranty.
For what it is worth, a run of 200 individually numbered Mammoth trucks are being produced this year, with over 100 already allocated to new homes in North America. Whether any examples will filter across to the UK, or Europe, is not known at this stage. Yet, the Mammoth pickup is well-engineered and promises a handling potential that is limited only by the girth of its massive tyres. It is raw, in the archetypal American way, although its cabin is leather-clad and luxurious. While quite ridiculous, the truck also features ‘launch control’, which is sure to result in plumes of acrid tyre smoke, with each blast up the drag-strip.
British roads are not really suitable for US pickup trucks and, despite the headline performance figures and classy cabin, the Hennessey Mammoth remains a commercial vehicle, with a less-than-one-tonne carrying capacity that belies its dimensions. Still, as an amusing adjunct, it certainly possesses merit in the one-horse towns of middle America.
