When you take one of the biggest and baddest American trucks on the market, and jam one of the biggest and baddest engines out there, the result is something of dreams.
Appropriately dubbed the Maximus 1000, popular US tuners Hennessey have Hellcat-swapped the Gladiator, and turned the supercharged V8 engine up to eleven.
In true Hennessey style, just swapping out the V6 engine for the supercharged Dodge 6.2-litre V8 engine wasn't enough, they went the whole nine yards. A new ECU, fuel system, radiator, and stainless steel exhaust have been installed to help the engine hit the four-figure hp mark.
When you compare the Maximus 1000's power figure with that of a standard Gladiator, the differences are immense. The regular 3.6-litre V6 engine produces 212kW, and 352Nm of torque — both reasonable figures for the chassis. The Hellcat engine that now sits in its place has over triple the amount of power with 745kW, and almost four times the amount of torque with 1,264Nm.
Hennessey hasn't mentioned any performance figures as of yet, but John Hennessey has described the truck as "Badassery on four wheels."
If you are in the market for a 1000hp workhorse and you're looking exclusively for a manual ute, you'll be out of luck with this one as it comes exclusively with an automatic transmission.
Other notable upgrades to the Gladiator include a six-inch lift kit and 20-inch wheels that are wrapped in some serious rubber. Custom LED auxiliary lights surround the bumper, and a Hennessey interior fills the cabin.
Only 24 Maximus 1000 models will be built and pricing starts at US$200,000 ($306,000) which includes the base Gladiator. There's no word as to whether you'd get the old engine and driveline back after the swap, and we wouldn't be holding out for it either.
Builds will begin in July, with the first trucks hitting the road near the end of the year.