We are big fans of Local Motors and their Rally Fighter kit car. It turns out that Spike’s Tactical is an even bigger fan. They went out and built a custom version of the Rally Fighter for themselves. Photographer John J Irvin captured this walk around of Spike’s creation.
Local Motors on the Rally Fighter:
“The Rally Fighter is a premium, authentic off-road experience. It is capable of racing the deserts of the American Southwest and handle the city streets. But build in an extra 10 minutes on your commute to answer questions, it’s a head-turner!
The Rally Fighter is the first vehicle by Local Motors and will be built with the our customer in Phoenix, Arizona.”
?? As far as I can see, this thing has no armor, no weapon turret and also minimal transport capability. So, what exactly makes it a ‘fighter’?
M5 “Fighter” is a class of a rally car.
It’s apparent there’s no real combat capability. Just like Magpul vehicles, it’s a marketing exercise. Throw graphics on a paint job and it sells in America, just like quad rails and sniper stocks. Whether it actually has a real world application isn’t the point.
It appears workmanlike and should do the off road thing reasonably well, but I’m going to ask exactly what does it do better than a 92 Cherokee with $5000 of Jeepspeed parts? That’s a off road racer in real life, and not only affordable, but can actually be loaded down with nearly 500 pounds of gear and three more users. Think “Land Rover in desert warfare.”
In keeping with the tactical theme, somebody publish the BDAR for a broken CV shaft for that – otherwise it’s KIA when it happens 150 miles from nowhere. Exactly why off road vehicles with no support team chasing the car from a helicopter use a live front axle – which also gives superior articulation over rough terrain.
“Rallye” is very indicative of the handholding this creation may need.
Don’t hate on this badass piece of American off-road sex. This thing makes males Men and women compliant! Step aside Barry Bostwick, I’m getting a fleet of these together and stepping into the jumpsuit and boots of Commander Ace Hunter! Deeds not words! Woohoo!
Thanks to SSD for the feature on the Rally Fighter! Was not expecting this.
I work for Local Motors as a Community Liaison and Fitness Coordinator.
As far as the Rally Fighter goes, Spike’s RF is not meant to fill a combat role. It’s a street legal vehicle, and its capability lies somewhere in between a pre-runner and a Ford F150 Raptor. We have a combat vehicle called the Flypmode, developed in conjunction with DARPA-it’s being tested right now.
Another factor is the parts-you can buy $5k worth of jeep parts to mod a Cherokee, but it won’t compare.
We’ve got a tube chassis space frame whereas the Cherokee is rocking a unibody, pushin 430hp and 425#ft/tq. Modifications would be in order should you wish to match the 18 inches of travel in front and 20 in rear to the RF. We’ve got a 48/52 weight distribution going, where a Cherokee does not
The Rally Fighter is practically race-ready (Last race we participated in was the Parker 425, finished 4th in our class) , whereas a Cherokee is not-the only things that had to be modified were for safety reasons-a crossbar that’s visible along the passengers, and a fuel cell.
I could talk about it all day, but I sincerely invite you down to the factory. Something that wasn’t mentioned was the design process and the fact that it’s built by YOU. Doesn’t get more Berry Compliant than that:P.
Lastly, affordable is subjective.
I hope to hear a response soon!