At Off Road Xtreme, we love custom-built horsepower. There is no doubt about that. So when we saw what Joey Ruiter, a product designer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had done, we thought to ourselves, “We have to show this off.”
Ruiter is an automotive enthusiast like millions of others, but got it in his head to build something very different, and boy did he. It’s not what some would call pretty, but as the saying goes, … “only a Mother could love.”
The Reboot Buggy offers a shape that nobody would call sleek, for there is an open-topped, two-door box that does duty as a passenger area. A 470-horsepower, 383 ci, small-block V8 engine in the middle of the open frame provides more than enough get up and go.
The rest of the body/chassis somewhat resembles a standard off-road buggy, and is equipped with a long-travel suspension, and gnarly 40-inch tires to allow the vehicle to gain traction on just about any terrain Ruiter chooses to drive it on. The usual winch, lights and a few other accessories are there, too.
“It sounds strange, but I wanted the vehicle to determine its design,” explains Ruiter, “Even if it means ignoring the driver’s needs.”
To free himself from current automotive conventions, Ruiter went back the beginning. The result was the Reboot Buggy. With its roofless passenger compartment and hulking all-terrain wheels, it’s what happens when a race-bred horse evolves into a modern-day carriage. “Before there were roads and infrastructure, buggies had to be equipped for all terrains. Capability was essential.”
Baas Creative made the video above about the Reboot Buggy. In addition to detailing the Reboot and displaying it’s capabilities, the six-minute video also takes you inside Ruiter’s mind to give you a greater sense of the buggy’s origins.