Move Over, Super SUVs! Here's "The First Street-Legal Hypertruck," Scarbo SV Rover

This little Californian enthusiastic auto design and manufacturing company may have exaggerated its claim of being the first to put a "street-legal Hypertruck" on the market. I wonder what Hennessey or Shelby have to say about that.

For instance, Hennessey Mammoth (based on the Ram 1500 TRX) has an upgraded 6.2-liter V8 sporting 1,012 horsepower and 969 lb-ft of torque. This results in a sprint of just 3.2 seconds to 60 mph (96 kph) or an elapsed quarter-mile time of 11.4 seconds. Not bad at all for a more-than-6,400-pound (2.9-ton) pick-up truck, huh?

Well, Scarbo Vintage's proposition is another kind of monster, and it's not meant to compete with Hennessey Mammoth or Shelby F-150 Super Snake. Actually, the initial project was meant to become a very competitive desert race truck for Baja.

But, after 14 years of development, the Scarbo Vintage team decided to give it a try and convert it into a street-legal car. It premiered this February at the F.A.T. International Ice Race in Aspen, Colorado - the perfect ground for "the world's first street-legal Hypertruck" syntagm to make some buzz.

Does it look familiar? Of course, the strong references to the iconic Land Rover Defender are meant to appeal to those searching for a high level of offroad performance. The grill, the front and backlights, the doors, or the roofline make for a compelling and easy-to-spot appearance, especially for "les connaisseurs."

The 40-inch tires on 20-inch forged wheels instantly make any offroad fan drool, giving this "Landy" a very "Humvee" stance - mainly thanks to the inboard pushrod front and rear suspension with 30 inches of total wheel travel.

Thanks to the air-ride suspension with user-adjustable height control and valving, you can only imagine how those long jumps in the air will feel on those movie hill roads. Or you can simply enjoy it in the vast American desert areas, far from any other driver, pedestrian, biker… Well, more on the "vast" issues just in a few moments.

Back to the offroad technical menu, there's a mandatory high- and low-range transfer case, selectable 2WD and 4WD modes, and also selectable front and rear locking differentials. There's also a handy four-wheel steering, but I doubt the SV Rover has the tank turn capability Rivian is so proud of. Did I mention the Brembo 6-piston brake system with 400 mm carbon ceramic rotors?

So far, so good: it's a compelling Baja truck. But why the one and a half million dollars when the package I mentioned is much less? Well, there are other goodies on the menu. For instance, the bodywork is made from carbon fiber and aluminum, which helps a lot in lowering the weight and thus improving high performance.

While a Baja race truck has nothing to do with comfort and luxury, the SV Rover's interior has little in common with the spartan environment of a race car. Don't expect a Lamborghini or Ferrari feeling, either, but you can enjoy the Alcantara interior with billet aluminum accents and large digital cockpit and multimedia displays.

Oh, there are also climate controls, power windows, and power door locks – and I'm not making fun of you. Count in the handy push-button start and the rear cargo area, and here you have it: a two-seat, comfortable, and practical enough supercar in disguise.

I wonder if it can eclipse a yellow Lambo Urus… Frankly, in terms of interior luxury or exterior design, it can't. But it's rivaling the Italian bull in terms of sheer power and high performance, thanks to its 1,000-horsepower output. And, of course, you'd be crazy to take the Lambo SUV offroad.

Lamborghini Urus comes with a state-of-the-art 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 and 666 horsepower. Ferrari Purosangue is better, as its 6.5-liter V12 is good for 725 horsepower. Well, SV Rover's supercharged big displacement V8 is tuned to around 1,000 horsepower and "tamed" by an 8-speed paddle-shifted automatic transmission. Just like the "raging bull" and the "prancing horse."

Still, what the Italian super-SUVs don't have? An all-electric powertrain, which, oddly, SV Rover can provide if the customer wishes. The electric motor's peak power is rated at 750 kW. This translates to a theoretical 1,005 horsepower, but the electric motor promises another level of feeling in real life thanks to its undisclosed massive torque.

Sadly, your senses won't be thrilled too much. While the V8 version is fitted with a more-than-generous 65-gallon fuel tank (around 250 liters), the battery capacity for the EV version is only 75 kWh.

Just to put things into perspective, the former Tesla Model X fitted with a similar capacity battery had an EPA-rated range of only 220 miles (around 350 km). One cannot expect a better value for the electric SV Rover, so I expect the customization program to also consist of higher-capacity batteries.

In the end, I cannot but wonder if the Cyberbeast (the 845-hp tri-motor Cybertruck we're still waiting to be available) or the 1,000-hp GMC Hummer EV are really "hypertrucks", as they both promise around 3 seconds for the 0-60 mph. Or better: what is a hypertruck all about?

Depending on your own definition, the Scarbo SV Rover could really be "the first street-legal Hypertruck." Or "the first street-legal electric Hypertruck," at least. But let's face it, you won't spend the money on this syntagm. There's nothing similar to this crazy truck on the market right now. So, maybe it's worth it if you have the money for a Bugatti or a Rimac.