Haük Designs’ Crazy Steam-powered Jeep Up for Sale
Steam engine that powered this hefty 6×6 Wrangler isn’t included and that’s a good thing.
Chances are, you’ve seen an episode or two of History Channel’s interesting show Road Hauks. If not, the premise is quite simple. The show follows along as Kenny Hauk and his custom vehicle shop, Haük Designs, create some of the zanier rides on the planet. Everything they do is way over the top. But few Haük rides match up to the Jeep JK Wrangler they converted to steam power.
As you might imagine, it took an incredible amount of work to transform this Jeep into a locomotive clone. To contain the massive weight of the vintage steam engine, the crew had to seriously fortify the suspension and add another axle out back. The end result was, admittedly, pretty cool. But in the real world, this thing was slower than your Grandma on her way to church on Sundays.
Let’s face it – a steam-powered Jeep wasn’t a very viable idea to begin with. For starters, it takes a huge 55-gallon drum of water out back just to give you 1.5 miles of range. And that, friends, is the true meaning of range anxiety. Couple that with acceleration times guaranteed to put you to sleep behind the wheel, and there’s no wonder no one’s ever attempted this before.
Now,the big boiler from this build is heading to its rightful resting place – a steam power museum. Where we can admire it for the important yet irrelevant relic of the past that it truly is. And since they don’t need it anymore, the Jeep is also apparently up for sale. Sans the aforementioned powerplant, of course.
But that’s probably a good thing. And now, we’re rightfully wondering what will become of this unique build. For their part, Haük isn’t revealing what their asking price is, asking interested parties to call the shop. But if the price is in fact right, this steamless Jeep might just make a cool project (with a cool backstory) for someone.
Join the JK-Forums now!
