Mil-Spec Hummer H1 Appropriately Uses Banked Figure-8 Bus Racetrack for Drifting

A little disclaimer first. The Mil-Spec Automotive Launch Edition reimagined Hummer H1 we first see being driven by Matt Farah isn’t the actual vehicle he’s going sideways in at the Flat Rock Speedway in Monroe County, Michigan—on the banked ¼ mile figure 8 school bus racing track of all places!

Instead, the Kevlar-coated example was the one chosen for the tamer parts of this episode. It’s used to remind us all how seriously “terrible and highly compromised” AM General's Hummer H1 was back in the day. Basically, Mil-Spec Automotive had to deconstruct and reimagine the concept of the mid-engined SUV entirely (yes, the engine and transmission sit behind the front track).

And they became famous for doing that in their tidy shop from Auburn Hills, Michigan. No, not the one used for the static presentation (the video embedded below has all the timestamps neatly arranged in the description, so you don’t miss anything), which is sparkling clean.

The team probably uses that space to make it easier for the Hummer fan to cope with the fact that “unsh**boxing the H1 isn’t cheap,” as pricing kicks off from at least $250K, according to Farah. Once all the work is done, and the owner finds out the vehicle is actually usable, it’s possible to arrive at the same conclusion that “it boogies for an 11,000 pound” (4,990 kg) monster...

Anyways, the cinematic street driving is cool and all, but we’re here for the real action. That kicks off once the team switches to Mil-Spec's “powertrain mule” built on a military-grade soft-top 1992 Hummer H1. Which was then married to the 800-hp Duramax engine and the Allison transmission, lowered and made RWD... just for the fun of making it fast, apparently.

Now, it not only drives better and posts low 10-second quarter-mile passes but can also go sideways, up to the point of so much entertainment that Farah concludes, “I hooned it to death,” once the rear tires get shredded to pieces.