THE DRIVE
EVEN when you’re the editor of a national 4x4 magazine, it’s
not every day that someone throws you the keys to a vehicle
with a $450,000 replacement cost – certainly not one that
has been custom-built with hundreds of man hours going
into it, has only 500km on the clock, and not even its owner
has driven it off-road yet. I’ve heard it said before that Justin
Montesalvo is a mad man, and I was convinced of it once he
agreed to let me drive his rig.
It was with much trepidation that I drove the Mega 6x6 out
of the spot where we had been shooting our initial images,
but I needn’t have felt that way. Aside from the huge step up
into the cabin, the leather-lavished interior and the gorgeous
sounding rumble from the exhaust stacks, driving the 6x6
on road is just like any other LC79. Obviously, there’s a bit
more poke available from the GSL-tweaked engine when
you squeeze the throttle down, and it was yet to be tuned to
its full potential when we drove it, but it rumbles along like
many other kitted Cruisers.
The airbag suspension is very firm and could be softened
up for my liking, but it certainly rides nice at 80 to 100km/h
on rough roads. Plus, there’s no feeling of the second rear
axle scrubbing the tyres on tight turns on sealed roads as
you might expect. The size of the thing only comes to the fore
WITH LOCKERS IN, IT NEVER WANTED FOR TRACTION
LEATHER HEAVEN
NAPPA leather and suede trim
ensure this LC79 is no farm truck.32 http://www.4X4australia.com.auCUSTOM PATRIOT CAMPERS’ LC79 6X6