WITH LOCKERS IN, IT NEVER WANTED FOR TRACTION
THE DRIVE
EVEN when you’re the editor of a national 4x4 magazine, it’s not every day that someone throws you the keys to a vehicle with a $450,000 replacement cost – certainly not one that has been custom-built with hundreds of man hours going into it, has only 500km on the clock, and not even its owner has driven it off-road yet. I’ve heard it said before that Justin Montesalvo is a mad man, and I was convinced of it once he agreed to let me drive his rig.
It was with much trepidation that I drove the Mega 6x6 out of the spot where we had been shooting our initial images, but I needn’t have felt that way. Aside from the huge step up into the cabin, the leather-lavished interior and the gorgeous sounding rumble from the exhaust stacks, driving the 6x6 on road is just like any other LC79. Obviously, there’s a bit more poke available from the Gsl-tweaked engine when you squeeze the throttle down, and it was yet to be tuned to its full potential when we drove it, but it rumbles along like many other kitted Cruisers.
The airbag suspension is very firm and could be softened up for my liking, but it certainly rides nice at 80 to 100km/h on rough roads. Plus, there’s no feeling of the second rear axle scrubbing the tyres on tight turns on sealed roads as you might expect. The size of the thing only comes to the fore
IT’D BE A WEAPON IN THE DESERT OR UP THE CAPE
when you get it off-road and the tracks feel super tight – with the Marks portal axles and +35 offset ROH wheels, the 6x6 is 150mm wider than your garden variety LC79. Justin also mentioned the amount of work that went into fabricating the custom wheel-arch flares, so there was no way I wanted to scrub them against a tree or bank.
I again questioned Justin’s sanity when we stood at the bottom of a deeply rutted climb and I asked him if he’d rather drive his car up there himself. “Nah mate, you’re here to drive it so better you break it than me.”
The first pinch was a fairly straightforward rocky climb with a step as it veered left. I wanted to see what sort of traction the six-wheel drive gave, so I only switched in the rear locker which would work with the soft locker in the other rear axle. The Cruiser crawled up the first part with ease, but as the track turned and the left front went up the step – lifting a wheel on the second axle and the outside front – it scrabbled for grip and forward momentum. The safe option was to ease back and put the front locker in, and it breezed on up.
The next obstacle was a deep, rutted gorge barely wide enough to pilot the Cruiser up, and again I was conscious of keeping those fender flares off the walls. With front and rear lockers in, the Patriot Cruiser never wanted for traction; but, taking a cautious line soon had the front left wheel hoiking high as the rig leant in toward the bank. The safest way forward was to run the synth line out from the TJM Torq 12,000lb front winch (there’s another one mounted at the back) to pull the car across to the left as it edged further up. Tight passes between trees were the only other difficulties for the big 6x6, while power and traction were never in doubt.
This is one seriously capable truck, but its size dictates that it’s better suited to open country rather than tight bush tracks. It would be a weapon in the desert or up on The Cape, and we’re sure we’ll see more on that when it appears on the Patriot Games TV series.