“FIRST CONTACT WITH A GENUINE HUMVEE IS A LESSON IN 'BELIEVE IT WHEN YOU SEE IT'”
War. Even with the heav y-handed approach of the Militar y, they’re actually very anal about service and maintenance.
Moffat drove it across the Victorian Alps a while back, and other than a bit of tootling around Melbourne, that’s basically it. Just looking under it shows that – clean as a whistle.
Another surprise, with all its interior acreage, is the seats for only four, including driver. You’re perched a long way from your mates though. There’s a wide platform running down the guts, ready for mounting whatever a war may require (anything from a 50-Cal machinegun platform to a multiple rocket launching system) and also the barrier between you and the running gear. That’s where all the shafts, transfer cases, inboard disc brakes, etc. live – around about chest height. You’re riding this thing like a set of saddlebags! As it is, I reckon you could get at least 10 live bods in there – 20, if pushed. If they can get 27 in a classic Mini, that makes it around 60!
It seems this was one of the first versions with any attempt at armour plating. The “X” patterns in the doors are the indicator. Never meant take direct fire, they’re still better than what came before, which was basically nothing a modern slingshot couldn’t penetrate.
Take care when plugging anything into this. It’s a 24-volt system, so you’ll blow the guts out of your 12-volt devices without a converter. Possibly a bit of an aural reminder of what it would’ve heard f loating over the deserts of Arabia nearly 30 years ago.