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Over the year we got to see what seemed like every type of vehicle and hundreds of different variations of it. We had to dig deep to find our top five favorite vehicles from 2016. With all the events we were at this was harder than you make think.
5: Australian 4WD IFS IRS Trophy Truck [2]
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Off-road is about pushing the limits of vehicles and the drivers, but taking it to a new level means something completely down under. Proformance Motorsport [4] has done something to push the sport to a new level regardless of the criticism they have received.
Scott Bryce, owner of Proformance Motorsport, created something different and that went against the grain of the sport in Austrailia. There has been a lot of trial and error with the build, but it was due to the fact that everything was a first on this vehicle.
4: Jeff Friesen’s Hydrodynamic Buggy [5]
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While out at King of the Hammers earlier this year we spotted a one-of-a-kind rig that we had to go check out. With a 123-inch wheelbase, Jeff Friesen’s Hydrodynamic Buggy has the dimensions of a full-size pickup truck, but the off-road capability factor is in a whole different league.
Steering in the Hydrodynamic Buggy works by having the oil go from the central pump into a divider. The oil then diverts to the left or right side, based on driver input through the steering wheel. This was definitely a work of art as much as it was a capable off-road rig.
3: Jeep’s 707 Horsepower Trailcat Concept [7]
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Just hearing the name and what is under the hood of this Jeep concept vehicle should have made anyone’s top vehicle list. Jeep’s 707 horsepower Trailcat concept first appeared out in Moab during Easter Jeep Safari, but we had the chance to drive it late in the year.
As the name implies, the Trailcat concept sports the same motor from the Challenger and Charger Hellcat models. The supercharged Hemi that was shoehorned into the engine bay is hooked to a six-speed manual gearbox similar to the hardware found in the Challenger, and it can send power to all four corners through a pair of Dana 60 axles.
2: Herbst Smith Fabrication Built Trophy Trucks [9]
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We have had the chance to see Herbst Smith Fabrication [14] new Trophy Truck design from the ground up. The trucks have gone from table to racing the Baja 1000 all within the last year. Not only is it a feat to build a Trophy Truck as fast as they do, but the Herbst Smith built trucks had done well in every race they have participated in.
With a total of six trucks built they have shown they can compete and look good doing it. The latest in off-road technology and carbon fiber puts these as some of the best-looking trucks out in the field.
1: Brad Deberti’s 2017 Ford Raptor Luxury Prerunner [15]
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We had a chance to catch up with Brad DeBerti and the first 2017 Ford Raptor prerunner during the 2016 SEMA show. This is one truck that has all the creature comforts and plenty of wheel travel in addition to being the first Raptor to be cut up.
All year we got to see a ton of unique builds at every event we went to. We look forward to what 2017 offers and the vehicles we come across. What was your favorite vehicle you saw in 2016? Tell us in the comments below!