If there’s one place in the world that can be counted on for wild footage of automobile-based hoonery, it is certainly Russia.
This video appeared on YouTube about a month ago, featuring all manner of homemade off-road rigs … is that a BMW 7-Series off-roader? And a Smart car?? Excellent.
There is no shortage of gonzo dashcam footage from Russia floating around the internet but this video plays on a whole ‘nother level … at least for this off-road gearhead. The film kicks off with a way-too-tall-for-its-own-good Mercedes S500 sedan, the very same model that used to ferry around the world’s millionaires when it was new. While its center of gravity looks to be higher than Wiz Khalifa, the robust front and rear bash bumpers ensure this rig can plow through just about anything.
This Isuzu, with what are possibly the biggest fender flares your author has ever seen on a truck of that make, fords through frozen Russian rivers like an auger chews through pond ice. The video lists it as an Isuzu Trooper on top of a GAZ 66 platform and powered by a Honda 3.2L V6 engine.
It’s safe to say the folks behind this video are masters at their craft, as there are decidedly no adaptor kits for the vehicular mashup shown above. The number of hours gone into the creation of each of these machines must be off the scale.
Slathered in yellow paint and a good bit of mud is this Volga (GAZ 31029), a machine that also sits atop a GAZ 66 chassis but is powered by an 11.2L V6 diesel. That is not a misprint. Eleven-point-two liters. The pistons must be the size of paint cans. Skip to 2:52 in the video to hear it fire up.
The video is titled “Off-Road Vehicles that Weren’t Meant to Be”. In some parallel reality, they probably don’t. Too bad for them because these things are awesome.