Over the past year, I've become increasingly interested in off-road racing. And I'm currently working on a very exciting project that I can't wait to share with you. If all goes well, I may just live one of the most memorable experiences of my life so far.
Something about going through the desert or any off-road area at high speeds gets my blood pumping faster. Jumping through mid-air and sliding throughout the layout has to be fascinating if you can handle the heat. That's why I'd rather watch Hoonigan's off-road drag races than the regular ones.
There's always that element of surprise and more pressure on both man and machine to emerge victoriously. Just by thinking about it, I remembered an old racing game I played at the start of the 21st century. I had forgotten the name, but after feeding some keywords to Google, "1NSANE" struck me. God, it was fun! I guess that memory popped into my mind after seeing the two vehicles lined up for today's 1,000-ft (304-meter) drag race.
On one side, we've got the "Monster Buggy." In essence, this thing is a rock crawler so that it may feel like a fish out of water in today's challenge. You could easily write an essay describing how much work went into building it, but I'll sum it up. Once you look past the huge dual-beadlock wheels and the MRAP vehicle (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) axles, there's even more insanity.
This machine features a rear-mounted, naturally-aspirated V8 and AWD. I'm talking about a 513 ci (8.4-liter) V8 with a maximum output of about 700 horsepower without using the magic spray. That's right, a nitrous bottle on the passenger side could make a significant difference in the race. Its opponent for today is Blake Wilkey's "Jaws" Trophy Truck.
It took him over five years to build this thing, and it's reportedly the first VW Bug-based Trophy Truck around. You might remember seeing it in his Urban Assault 3 viral video that he shot in Tijuana, Mexico. Blake has been on this show several times before, using different vehicles. His machine of choice features a front-mounted 427 ci (7.0-liter) V8 engine that uses a Magnuson TVS2650 supercharger to help him keep up with the big boys.
It's quite an interesting build, and he even has heated seats inside for those cold desert night drives. While The Monster Buggy could tackle some areas that "Jaws" wouldn't even dream of driving on. But this is a straight-line acceleration test, and it is almost impossible to think that the Trophy Truck would lose this race.
The difference between the two is obvious from the very first run. The only way the Monster Buggy can win this is if it gets a massive advantage at the start line. You'll need to keep watching until the third run to see who won this, as I won't spoil the fun for you.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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