{"id":28897,"date":"2022-03-15T11:57:10","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T15:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28897"},"modified":"2022-03-15T11:57:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T15:57:10","slug":"payne-prepare-for-the-apocalypse-with-the-six-wheel-bronco-dark-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/payne-prepare-for-the-apocalypse-with-the-six-wheel-bronco-dark-horse","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Prepare for the apocalypse with the six-wheel Bronco Dark Horse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Apocalypse Manufacturing looked at the four-wheel, off-road Ford Bronco beast and found it lacking.<\/p>\n

Say hello to the Dark Horse, the world\u2019s first six-wheel Bronco.<\/p>\n

The Fort Lauderdale-based aftermarket shop announced production this week of the 6×6 beast, complete with pickup bed, 400 horsepower, 37-inch all-terrain tires\u00a0and weather-resistant interior. Broncomania is in full swing after the Blue Oval introduced the production Bronco in 2021 and Dark Horse will square off against its natural enemy \u2014 the 6×6, Apocalypse-made, Jeep Gladiator-based Hellfire \u2014 as well as Jeep cyborgs like Hennessey’s 1,000-horsepower Gladiator stuffed with a Dodge Hellcat engine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such a nostalgic bring-back from Ford\u00a0that as soon as we were able to get our hands on one, we knew exactly what we had to do and created the world\u2019s first Bronco six-wheel drive truck,\u201d said Apocalypse chief Joseph Ghattas, who notes the Dark Horse is a street-legal, everyday driver.<\/p>\n

These aftermarket Frankensteins join a super-truck movement galvanized by Americans\u2019 desire for everything SUV and truck. Not content to let aftermarket companies have all the fun, Detroit manufacturers have introduced their own super-freak models.<\/p>\n

Ford, for example, has introduced a rowdy Raptor version of its Bronco SUV and Ranger pickup to join its iconic F-150 Raptor desert-runner. Ram makes the 702-horse TRX pickup. GMC boasts the crab-walking Hummer EV.<\/p>\n

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But the aftermarket aims to be one step ahead with insane creations to feed\u00a0deep-pocketed customers.<\/p>\n

A specialist in six-wheel vehicles, Apocalypse says\u00a0its beasts are meant to \u201csurvive the end of times.\u201d Or at least a zombie invasion. The company manufactures the Ram TRX-based Warlord and Jeep-based Doomsday\/Hellfire\/Sinister 6 models. The\u00a0vehicles get lots of attention\u00a0making starring appearances alongside Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock\u00a0and Channing Tatum in the current Hollywood film\u00a0\u201cThe Lost City\u201d \u2014 as well as two appearances on “Jay Leno\u2019s Garage.”<\/p>\n

The Dark Horse follows in their hoofprints. The ute arrives in the Apocalypse shop as a production, four-door, 4×4 Bronco powered by a 330-horse turbo V-6. The engine is pulled and given a steroid injection to 400 horsepower (or about the same grunt as Ford\u2019s coming Bronco Raptor).<\/p>\n

Then the Bronco chassis is put on the operating table. Its back is cut off, and the spine extended with steel and fiberglass to create a five-foot-long pickup bed. All told, the Bronco grows from 189 inches in length to 225. The beast is accessorized with 37-inch all-terrain rubber, 20-inch\u00a0wheels, 4-inch lift, steel sidesteps\u00a0and a removable, slant-back cover for the bed. Interestingly, there is only one spare tire on the tailgate, like a normal Bronc.<\/p>\n

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The real magic comes from the company\u2019s patented\u00a0middle\u00a0tandem axle, delivering power to all six hooves. Special coil-over springs are added out back\u00a0for on-road driving comfort when the vehicle is in rear, four-wheel-drive mode. When in its natural, off-road habitat \u2014 or on Mars \u2014\u00a0Dark Horse can be put into auto mode, which spins all six wheels with\u00a0an onboard computer monitoring grip.<\/p>\n

The interior gets a makeover\u00a0too, with the seats wrapped in King Ranch-style, tan-and-black, marine-grade leather. Fortunately, the materials are weather resistant so you can strip Dark Horse of its doors and roof and enjoy the off-road rodeo.<\/p>\n

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Dark Horse joins more conventional, 4WD aftermarket Bronco kits like Roush\u2019s Bronco R, which can be ordered through dealers, and adds more aggressive wheels and exhaust note. Or the Hennessey VelociRaptor 400 Bronco, which tattoos the bod with stripes while goosing the 2.7-liter V-6 engine with 411 horses and 603 pound-feet of\u00a0torque.<\/p>\n

Hennessey also builds Jeep aftermarket hellions like the Maximus Gladiator, which is stuffed with a 1,000-horse, supercharged Dodge Hellcat engine.<\/p>\n

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Build No.\u00a01 for Dark Horse will go straight to Barrett Jackson for auction April 9. Auctions set the price for these specialty trucks. In an indication of where the 6×6 is headed (and Broncomania in general), a heavily-altered\u00a04×4 Bronco from mod-shop SoFlo went for $220,000 earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dark Horse came out better then we could ever have dreamt,\u201d said Ghattas. \u201cIn future builds, customers could expect to see a 700-plus horsepower from a supercharged V-8.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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