Automotive

Mil-Spec Automotive goes for capability and luxury on its latest "tactical" Hummer build

Mil-Spec Automotive goes for capability and luxury on its latest "tactical" Hummer build
The Mil-Spec Auto #006 bespoke Hummer H1: stick that in your G-Wagen
The Mil-Spec Auto #006 bespoke Hummer H1: stick that in your G-Wagen
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Mil-Spec Auto's latest military-inspired custom H1 build is a beefy fellow indeed
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Mil-Spec Auto's latest military-inspired custom H1 build is a beefy fellow indeed
Mil-Spec Auto's custom H1 build includes matching luggage from Pelican
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Mil-Spec Auto's custom H1 build includes matching luggage from Pelican
I'm sorry, giant H1, you can't hide behind twigs
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I'm sorry, giant H1, you can't hide behind twigs
38x13.50R20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on 20x9.5 Black Rhino Armory beadlock wheels give it that M*A*S*H look
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38x13.50R20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on 20x9.5 Black Rhino Armory beadlock wheels give it that M*A*S*H look
The custom H1 build boasts a 12,000-lb winch for getting out of bogs
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The custom H1 build boasts a 12,000-lb winch for getting out of bogs
That's what I call a rear bumper – get bumped with that, and you'll stay bumped
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That's what I call a rear bumper – get bumped with that, and you'll stay bumped
Interior has been completely overhauled
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Interior has been completely overhauled
Runs a 500-hp, 1,000 lb-ft Duramax motor
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Runs a 500-hp, 1,000 lb-ft Duramax motor
A boxy looking thing from the front
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A boxy looking thing from the front
The Mil-Spec Auto #006 bespoke Hummer H1: stick that in your G-Wagen
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The Mil-Spec Auto #006 bespoke Hummer H1: stick that in your G-Wagen
An entirely overhauled drivetrain makes #006 rear-wheel drive only until things start slipping
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An entirely overhauled drivetrain makes #006 rear-wheel drive only until things start slipping
Quite a squat thing from the side
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Quite a squat thing from the side
60-inch Baja Designs light bar on top of the windshield
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60-inch Baja Designs light bar on top of the windshield
Offset aluminum snorkel should make light work of river crossings
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Offset aluminum snorkel should make light work of river crossings
Air-Ride suspension is self balancing and offers up to 4 inches of pneumatic lift for serious off-roading
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Air-Ride suspension is self balancing and offers up to 4 inches of pneumatic lift for serious off-roading
Cabin is entirely gutted and rebuilt from scratch
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Cabin is entirely gutted and rebuilt from scratch
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So much of the automotive industry these days is pushing for smaller, cleaner, electric intelligence. But some still like 'em big and heavy and dumb, and nothing hits that holy trinity quite like a Hummer. Mil-Spec Auto has released its latest military-inspired custom H1 build, and it's a brute.

Around 80 grand will get you a standard Hummer H1, but you'll need to fork out just under US$300K to take things to this level. Based north of Detroit, Mil-Spec Automotive takes H1s, strips them to the bare bones, and rebuilds them from the ground up with a focus on even tougher off-road capability as well as a touch of comfort and luxury that'd be completely alien to anyone who's ever driven one of these things in actual military spec.

This is build #006 of 12 "Launch Editions" to be built. It's a slant-back H1 with an LBZ-version 6.6-liter Duramax motor from the 2006 Alpha H1 that's far from standard – we're talking 500 horses and 1,000 lb-ft (1,356 Nm) of torque, a healthy increase from the 360hp/650 lb-ft (881 Nm) they were making out of the factory. The standard transmission wouldn't handle that kind of torque, so it's been beefed up with an Allison 6-speed worked over by MSA.

Air-Ride suspension is self balancing and offers up to 4 inches of pneumatic lift for serious off-roading
Air-Ride suspension is self balancing and offers up to 4 inches of pneumatic lift for serious off-roading

Indeed, the standard AWD drivetrain's been yanked as well, replaced with a more recent unit from a GM HD truck that makes this thing rear-wheel drive only until the wheels start slipping. The axles themselves get upgraded to the military versions from the Humvee, with a selectable ARB Air Locker on the rear.

The powder-coated frame features re-engineered engine mounts and a whole new aluminum welded floor, designed to help reduce road noise. There's also a bunch of sound-deadening material packed throughout the chassis and cabin "to overcome the H1's rattly DNA."

The Air-Ride suspension system is a beauty, adding about four inches of ride height adjustment to let you crank this thing up on a set of RideTech pneumatic airbags for heavy duty off-roading. It's self-leveling, automatically compensating for back-seat passengers or cargo, and the shocks are 8-way adjustable for damping.

38x13.50R20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on 20x9.5 Black Rhino Armory beadlock wheels give it that M*A*S*H look
38x13.50R20 Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on 20x9.5 Black Rhino Armory beadlock wheels give it that M*A*S*H look

If you're masochistic enough to try to maneuver this thing into a supermarket parking space, you can take some solace from the fact that the Deep Sky Black paint is kevlar-infused for durability. Mind you, there are colossal bull-bars on the front and back (complete with a 12,000-lb (5,443-kg) winch), so the other guy's probably going to come off worse, and there's a reversing camera to help make sure it's not your fault.

Let's take a look at the interior, which is finished in marine-grade canvas and two-tone black leather with all-weather vinyl instead of carpet. Only the front seat brackets remain from the original cabin – the dash is replaced with an in-house design featuring retro-style analog gauges including an altitude readout, GPS speedo and performance-capturing capability to capture your hero statistics.

Cabin is entirely gutted and rebuilt from scratch
Cabin is entirely gutted and rebuilt from scratch

Conveniences include four cup holders, vintage style air-con outlets, a stack of USB and 12-V power outlets, a marine-grade nine-speaker JL Audio stereo system, an on-board air compressor and tire inflation hose and dual batteries to keep you juiced up when you're running things off the power outdoors. The customer in this case has also asked for paracord grab-handles and some cute matching luggage from Pelican.

It's huge and nasty, with a certain kind of capable, adventurous class to it if you can look past the rampant crass wastefulness that pervades it from the donor vehicle out. Personally I'd love to take it for a drive, off-road if possible and far from the wagging little fingers of pedestrians at the lights.

Source: Mil-Spec Automotive

View gallery - 16 images
3 comments
3 comments
Buzzclick
Beast. A refined one. The little boy in me wants it. The nature lovin' groan up sez don't even go there.
annevance
Europe should not allow for the import of such environmental unfriendly passenger cars.
ljaques
Hey, Loz, is annevance one of those people with wagging little fingers at the lights? Yeah, thought so. TFF Something like this would probably get 500 miles a year put on the odometer by most of the rich owners, but you never know. Let me know when you drive one. I call dips on shotgun!