US Specialty Vehicles – perhaps better known as USSV – has the market cornered when it comes to turning daily drivers into apocalypse-ready tanks. Famous for its hand in building vehicles for the Fast and Furious franchise, one of its projects began life as a Ford F-150, as detailed in a recent video from Raiti’s Rides.
The special 2019 Ford F-150 was named “Hamba,” which means “strong” in Japanese. Joe Raiti shows off the armor-plated pickup, which features “shapely, crafted metal bodywork,” as Raiti puts it. Everything is composed of composite materials, metals, and everything in between, ready to take on just about anything. It was built to be bulletproof, featuring LED headlights peeking from between its armor and even a tow hook up front.
The lower grille area was even sculpted to give it a better approach angle without sacrificing toughness. But it doesn’t stop there, though. The suspension has been “beefed up,” according to Raiti, meaning it can handle any terrain. Its beadlock wheels feature 35-inch tires with sidewall protection. “This thing cannot get stuck anywhere,” Raiti says.
The Hamba’s F-150 heritage isn’t overtly evident, but it does feature the same chrome door handles as the short-bed single-cab F-150, along with the same sideview mirrors. It’s got a Ford heartbeat under its custom hood, too: it harnesses the naturally aspirated 5.0L Coyote V8, which sounds pretty mean – as it well should.
Meanwhile, inside, the Hamba is obviously a Ford F-150, but features custom seats upholstered in red with matching accents on the steering wheel. It does feature some military style trim, though, with two-tone leather door handles. It has been fitted with an Alpine infotainment system, offering an upgrade over the “regular” F-150. It doesn’t feature a center console, though, which was seemingly taken out because of the utilitarian nature of the vehicle.
Of course USSV isn’t the only aftermarket specialist to have built an armored vehicle on the bones of a Ford pickup. The Mastiff, based on the Ford Super Duty, brings bulletproof performance from Alpine Armoring.
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