![]() ![]() The next thing I know, I’m high-fiving Ruttan’s wife, who’s standing trailside. Then, suddenly, everything is quiet and curiously still. I remember thinking, “I feel like an embryo.” But I have no idea now what that might mean. My senses are jangled by the vibrations from the rigidly mounted engine, the spastic pogoing of the horizon, and the beastly staccato snorts blasting out the open header positioned a couple of inches from my right foot. And judging by the smudges of red paint on my once-pristine-white Arai helmet, I’ve made contact on three different sides of the race buggy’s roll cage. ![]() Turns out we did, but naturally we kept on going. The whole ride feels like hitting a tree. How savage was the ride? Well, I couldn’t tell if we hit a tree or not. What happens next is 16 seconds of supernova violence. Sissy writer takes a ride in Hillbilly Deluxe. I’m sitting immediately behind a 2002 Chevy LS6 V-8 that’s been bored and stroked to 383 cubic inches and pumps out about 600 horsepower, the open header for which I briefly and quite accidentally stuck the toe of my right sneaker into as I clambered up into the cage. I’m strapped into a bright-red cage that looks like a cross between a bicycle helmet and the skeleton of a stegosaurus. And my driver, one Peter Ruttan, who casually made the comment through his helmet, is ready for his timed run up a steep hill made up mostly of jagged, irregular, three-foot-tall saw teeth of almost translucent novaculite stone. This is the last event of the season for the world’s loudest and roughest off-road buggies, the aptly named rock-bouncer racers. I hurriedly fish around the seat bottom for what was previously known to me as an anti-submarine belt, latch it, and cinch it as tight as my arm muscles will allow. “Don’t forget your nut belt you’re gonna to need it.” All that power is delivered to the ground with a robust and nearly indestructible four-wheel-drive system.From the February 2015 issue of Car and Driver Typical power output for these beasts varies between 500 to 750 horsepower (although many now push 1000 hp), and the torque exceeds anything seen on street vehicles. ![]() Many Rock Bouncers are powered by GM crate motors coupled to custom transmissions and transfer cases. Some are longer buggies with a lower center of gravity, while others have a short wheelbase allowing for exceptional maneuverability in tight places. While a Rock Crawler may be created by modifying a factory vehicle, the Rock Bouncer is made of hardened steel bars that have been bent to very specific, and exact angles using a mandrel technique to provide rigidity, exceptional strength, internal parts protection, appearance, and, of course, driver safety.Įach Rock Bouncer is custom made. The sport is all about speed with bouncers going flat out over the most extreme obstacles with little to no regard for machine (or driver).Īccording to Autowise, “ A Rock Bouncer is a Rock Crawler that has been custom-built to do what a Rock Crawler does, but in a much more aggressive manner.” While Rock Crawling is not for everyone, Rock Bouncing is even more exclusive. Large gear reductions in the vehicles drivetrain and high torque allow the crawlers to drive up, down, and across obstacles that would appear insurmountable. Rock Crawling requires careful and precise driving, at a pace so slow it almost seems like the crawler is moving in slow motion. ![]() They are driven on mountain trails, foothills, and over boulders and rock piles. It is an extreme form of off-road driving using four-wheel-drive vehicles such as Jeeps, trucks, and "buggies" that have been highly modified to overcome obstacles. These features provide more than enough capability to slosh through a shallow mud puddle, negotiate minor ruts and crevasses, and climb over rocks the driver of a VW would never think of attempting.īut a select few off-roaders look for a bit more, a vehicle specifically designed to handle the most difficult terrain and adverse conditions. ![]()
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