Jeep Cherokee Has Six Wheels…and Infinite Coolness

Say hello to Hexapod, the Jeep version of the Mercedes-AMG G63 6X6.

Six-wheel vehicles have had a moment in the past several years. As if the Mercedes-Benz G-Class couldn’t get any cooler or more capable or more expensive, AMG went ahead and made a 6X6 truck version of it (you might remember seeing one of them stuck in the snow on this site). There’s also an aftermarket six-wheel-drive version of the almighty Ford F-150 Raptor out there. And now there’s this badass 1982 Jeep Cherokee.

According to the motorheads at Jalopnik, it can be yours — for $18,000. The original ad on Autotrader states it has a V8 and only 8,000 miles. It’s never been in an accident or snow, and has new paint, satellite radio, an upgraded sound system, a DVD player, and a backup camera. Oh, and a sunroof. Actually, make that two.

That’s not exactly an exhaustive amount of information, considering how modified this Jeep is. Fortunately, a Jalopnik reader did some digging online and came up with a Craigslist ad for this very same Cherokee 6X6 from 2014:

“6 x 6 Jeep Cherokee 1982 (Hexapod) by Dick Cook

$22K or best offer

I brought it from Dick Cook in 2009. Cook was known in the ‘Obitron’ with Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth who was an artist and a Hot Rod designer and builder through out 1980s to 1990s. Cook and Dirty Doug helped build the ‘Obitron’ with Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth in 1995. Dick also built an 8 x 8 Jeep Willy named ‘Centipede’ as one of his masterpieces.  Cook wanted to sell some of his collections to build a boat during his retirement. I happened to work with Dick’s son Mathew at that time who introduced me to this 6 wheeler.

I named the 6 wheeler ‘Hexapod’ as it has 6 legs. It has a Chevy 350 engine and a transfer case that link the front and the back wheels as it turns. It has very tight turning radius. It normally runs on 4 wheel drive and can be engaged to 6-wheel drive with the cap lock.

I took it to a custom shop to fabricate the black powder coated roof rack, bumper, tire mount and Nerf bar. I also installed 4 porthole windows, two sunroofs. and an off-road jack. In addition, I installed the DVD stereo system, rear view camera, two amplifiers, 4 speakers and a powerful subwoofer. There are also four halogen searchlight and fog lamps. The seats are new with the addition of rear bench seat ordered from California. Finally, I had it painted red at the body shop. I moved to Georgia shortly after the jeep is finished customizing.

The engineering of this jeep is ingenious. It runs well and climbs very steep slope. It has been taken to the canyon ridding in Kingman Arizona couple of times before moving to Georgia. This 6 wheeler is a very unique vehicle and may be only one of the two that built by Dick Cook.”

Unique is right. It looks as if Easter Jeep Safari came early this year…

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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