Popular Ford truck dresses up as a badass armored vehicle

U.S. Specialty Vehicles, the company that brought us many of the custom cars seen throughout the Fast & Furious movie franchise, also built this USSV Hamba on a standard Ford F-150 chassis. Granted, it can be hard to tell under all the custom bodywork.

We are frankly torn on whether the exterior was primarily inspired by armored personnel carrier vehicles or fighter planes. It seems to take a bit from both categories with its geometric, boxy outlines, clean aesthetic and thick frames around the windows. It’s unknown whether any actual armor plating is present.

The interior mostly corresponds to that of a stock F-150, although the center console is inexplicably gone. There’s an Alpine infotainment system in the middle of the dash and a custom steering wheel, but that’s about it.

Things look a bit lackluster in the engine bay, where the same old 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 toils in tandem with a 10-speed AT. The output stays unchanged at 426 PS (420 hp / 313 kW) and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, but the listing says the SUV is actually heavier than the truck it is based upon, despite smaller measurements. That doesn’t promise any exciting dynamic figures.

Not long ago, the USSV Hamba was put up for sale at an online auction, but no one was tempted to match the $79,000 reserve, let alone exceed it. It’s now exhibited at a showroom in Florida.

We don’t know if USSV had any particular inspirations working on the Hamba, but we do know that it’s a one-off creation. Watch the video for a closer look at the project.