Midnight Rider, the Monstrous Record-Breaking Peterbilt Limousine, Is Still Insane

But even a Hummer limo will feel tiny next to this monster of a road train. This gleaming back tractor-trailer is actually a limousine, and a record-breaking one at it. Since 2004 when it made its first trip, it has held the Guinness World Record for the world’s heaviest limousine, and it’s also the largest in the world, the only one to feature a second level, and unofficially the most expensive out there.

This is the Midnight Rider.

The Midnight Rider is also one of the most famous limousines and custom vehicles in the world, a celebrity in its home state of California, where it was built in-house and then operated as a limo rental for years. As of the moment of press, the Midnight Rider is in storage, awaiting sale by auction at the end of the month – and perhaps more shocking is that it will cross the auction block without reserve.

Before you start counting pennies and doing budgets, chill. Upon its completion and subsequent maiden journey in September 2004, Midnight Rider came with a total construction cost of $2.5 million, and according to the owners, its value doubled in the following years with media exposure and increase in demand. Even if it sells for peanuts, comparatively speaking, there’s still the issue of the sky-high maintenance and running costs that come with such a monster of a road train.

But that’s not to say that we shouldn’t use the opportunity provided by its re-emergence in the spotlight to have another, in-depth look at it. Regardless of interior design tastes, which are individual and not up for debate, the Midnight Rider is one of the most ambitious, luxurious and decadent custom vehicles of recent years. Or, as soon-to-be-ex-owner Michael Machado once said, it’s the closest thing to vintage luxury railway transportation adapted to modern times.

The idea for such a limousine came to Michael and Pamela Machado in 1986, during a friendly chat on the kind of luxury experience Presidential Pullman railway cars provided in the 1800s. Such experience was no longer accessible, having long been replaced by plastics, fakes and cheap materials in the name of (duh) affordability. So, how do you bring that experience into the modern day, to deliver the kind of once-in-a-lifetime unforgettable experience that makes whatever expense worth it?

The Midnight Rider is the answer, but the final idea for it was only approved a decade later, in 1997. The Machados had the Peterbilt semi and decided to use it as the base for what would become the biggest and flashiest tractor-trailer limousine. They spent over $1 million on materials alone, and over $2.5 million for the entire project, including whatever modifications they had to make in order to get road approval for it from several agencies. The project lasted almost seven years and was almost entirely done in-house by a team of just five people, including the Machados.

There is no plastic onboard the Midnight Rider, only solid wood, polished brass imported from seven different countries, rich velvet, and plush, jewel-colored fabrics. As you can imagine, this makes the interior dated and potentially tacky if you’re not a fan of the style, but it’s all on purpose: this is what a Pullman car would probably look like today.

From the outside, the Midnight Rider is a gleaming black monster of a machine, 70 feet (21.3 meters) long, more than 14 feet (4.3 meters) high and weighing 25 tons, riding on 22 wheels. A 400 hp Cummins engine with 15-speed transmission takes it to a top speed of 90 mph (144 kph), and with it, the 40 people that can comfortably sit (and party) in the back.

Offering a total of 416 square feet (38.6 square meters) of interior space, the limousine has three lounge areas and one bar, several bathrooms, a command center for the resident engineer, and a permanent staff of five, including the engineer, two drivers, two bartenders and one steward. Each lounge has a separate sound system, and an intercom phone to communicate with fellow party people in the other areas – and most importantly, with the bartenders down below. “Down below” is not a typo: thanks to a design gimmick, the Observatory Lounge is technically the second level of the trailer, which makes this the only road-legal limousine in the world to feature one.

Unofficially, the Midnight Rider is also the world’s only nightclub on wheels, with the most number of drinks ordered in a single hour being 126. The Machados never said so explicitly, but it sounds like the party did not stop onboard when the limo was in motion, including the serving of drinks and the moving around. In one interview, Mr. Machado said the Midnight Rider rode (ha!) on air-ride suspension precisely to allow socializing between guests during travels. As a side note, even the three seats at the bar come with air-ride suspension.

Other amenities included unlimited internet access, individual AC and heating zones, individual sound systems, and the possibility to customize the experience onboard in terms of entertainment, drinks and appetizers. Several TVs, 220 lights and 2.4 miles (3.8 km) of electric wiring, and industrial-grade bar appliances were included, as was a separate luggage compartment at the end of the trailer.

For years after its debut, the Machados offered the Midnight Rider as a rental in California, but it’s road-legal for the entire territory of the U.S. without restrictions. Rates started at $1,000 an hour, including the five-person crew, and the Machados said that it was a hit with corporate clients. In fact, it was such a success that word of mouth was enough to sell it to new clients, and the Machados never did any proper advertising for it. Maintenance costs were – and remain – huge: 36 man hours for washing, polishing and waxing the exterior, five-man hours just to polish the interior, and huge gas and oil bills. Changing the tires easily tops $10,000.

It’s perhaps not that surprising, then, that the Machados are selling it, given the state of the economy right now and diminished demand for such outrageous vehicles. We reached out to the Machados for comment on the decision, and will update the story when and if we hear back. From what we can tell, though, they have shifted focus to consulting and mitigation. The Midnight Rider website is no longer online, and social media accounts haven’t been updated in years.

Update, January 10, 2023:

As it turns out, this impressive rig is not offered for sale by its builders, and they declare themselves shocked by the listing.

Mrs. Pamela Machado tells autoevolution that she and Mr. Machado sold the one-off limousine in February 2022, in California, “after much trepidation,” so the consignor is the new owner. Business had taken a downturn following “the California Air Quality Control Board ban on diesel engines/AB32 Global Warming Final Solutions Act, the changes in Insurance requirements in California with respect to non-standard limousines,” and measures that discouraged corporate luxury travel.

That said, Mrs. Machado notes that the name, the brand and the business of The Midnight Rider are still theirs, so it’s property of Irontree Management company. Whoever buys the rig won’t be able to use it as The Midnight Rider.