850 HP Demon-Swapped Gladiator Is the Muscle Car of Jeeps, Has 40-Inch Wheels

This week, AutotopiaLA took a breather from checking out the best muscle cars in the country to check out the "panty dropper," a Gladiator with way too much power. This custom truck is a sinister-looking build with immaculate black paint and some serious suspension work.

As attention-grabbing as those 40-inch tires are, we've seen plenty of Jeep rolling on those in the past. But Dodge V8 swaps are pretty rare. This one is built by a specialist company and comes with the more radical Demon setup, so it's making about 850 horsepower. Its owner says that it might be illegal to drive in California, as with the custom exhaust it's got going on, the setup won't pass smog.

However, we do get a short sample of what it's like on the road, and the experience is dominated by the whine of the 2.7-liter supercharger, which kicks into action almost from idle. It's got an 8-speed automatic gearbox, a heavy-duty Griffin radiator for the engine, and an air-to-water intercooler for the supercharger, so it's quite the civilized setup.

The owner mentions how the bumpers are stock, even though this looks fully custom, and that's because this was a Gladiator Launch Edition. However, there's nothing stock about the pickup's massive 6.5-inch Enforcer Overland Stage-4 suspension or the Demon logs embroidered into the seats.

And what does a thing like this cost? The video doesn't say, but we remember the actual Barrett Jackson listing, as it went for $198,000. This might seem like a lot of money and power, but a 1000 horsepower Gladiator from Hennessey starts from about $225,000.