If you have some money lying around doing nothing, here’s a thought for a sound investment: an iconic UPS truck - which also happens to be the world’s fastest race truck - is up for auction with the Iron Horse Auctions in North Carolina.
The UPS race truck was once a regular “package car” with the delivery company. It was retired in 1990 with some 300,000 miles on the clock, and UPS decided to turn it into a race truck as part of an advertising campaign. At the time, it had partnered with NASCAR and, as such, it needed a vehicle to include in ads and on billboards.
That vehicle turned out to be this P-800 Box Truck. With help from stunt-truck builder and racing champion Mike Ryan, in 11 days, the machine was pulled apart and turned into a race truck: it now had a safety roll cage, racing suspension and steering, and certified on-board telemetry, The Drive notes. It was also fitted with backup camera and monitor, and is now being sold with an extra set of wheels and tires. Still, it was meant for showing off, and UPS didn’t even consider actually using it.
It relented to it being raced after NASCAR fans campaigned for it, following the very successful ad campaign. Dale Jarrett did an honorary lap in it at the 2008 All-Star Race, when he officially retired from NASCAR, so the world’s fastest UPS race truck actually became a “race” truck.
In addition to that, it was featured in a handful of commercials and a documentary, a trailer for which you will also find available at the bottom of the page.
The bidding for it started at $1, but bids are anonymous. The auction still has 8 more days to go as of the time of writing, so it’s difficult to estimate how much this iconic UPS truck could end up fetching.
UPDATE: The UPS race truck has been pulled from the auction, after it emerged that the owner did not have a title for it. Bummer.
That vehicle turned out to be this P-800 Box Truck. With help from stunt-truck builder and racing champion Mike Ryan, in 11 days, the machine was pulled apart and turned into a race truck: it now had a safety roll cage, racing suspension and steering, and certified on-board telemetry, The Drive notes. It was also fitted with backup camera and monitor, and is now being sold with an extra set of wheels and tires. Still, it was meant for showing off, and UPS didn’t even consider actually using it.
It relented to it being raced after NASCAR fans campaigned for it, following the very successful ad campaign. Dale Jarrett did an honorary lap in it at the 2008 All-Star Race, when he officially retired from NASCAR, so the world’s fastest UPS race truck actually became a “race” truck.
In addition to that, it was featured in a handful of commercials and a documentary, a trailer for which you will also find available at the bottom of the page.
The bidding for it started at $1, but bids are anonymous. The auction still has 8 more days to go as of the time of writing, so it’s difficult to estimate how much this iconic UPS truck could end up fetching.
UPDATE: The UPS race truck has been pulled from the auction, after it emerged that the owner did not have a title for it. Bummer.