Tomorrow in Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrett-Jackson will kick off the world's most prestigious series of automotive auctions, with no reserve in place across the entire lineup. Huge cars like Burt Reynolds' personal Smokey and the Bandit Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and the very first 2022 Shelby GT500 King of the Road will cross the block, as will an unbelievable slate of supercars, classic muscle, and recent restomod builds.
But in terms of sheer size, few of the vehicles at Scottsdale can hope to match the absolutely absurd Warlord, the aftermarket's first Ram TRX 6x6 conversion built by Apocalypse Manufacturing of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A sister company of SoFlo Jeeps, Apocalypse made a name converting first Wranglers and then Gladiators into 6x6 trucks with huge knobbies, powerful engine swaps, and even nighttime thermal-vision cameras.
I got the chance to hop behind the wheel of Apocalypse's Gladiator-based Hellfire 6x6 last fall and came away impressed with the big truck's build quality and overall drivability, so ahead of the Warlord's high-profile auction set for primetime on Saturday, January 29, I spoke with SoFlo and Apocalypse founder, engineer, and owner Joe Ghattas about how he managed to take the world's most aggressive factory pickup and make it even more hardcore.
Six-Wheel Adjustable Suspension And Launch Control
The Warlord looks about as bold as possible with a reworked RAM logo that now reads WAR, plus all the off-roading goodies installed on any respectable build these days like KC lights up top, a chase-style roll cage spare tire carrier, and even power steps at the rear for easy access into the nine-foot bed—just on the off chance anybody wants to load some plywood. But Apocalypse also didn't want to lose any of the TRX's factory awesomeness during the conversion process.
"One of the things that sets the TRX apart is that it has these electronically adjustable Bilstein shocks," Ghattas told me. "All we had to do is find a way to control six shocks instead of four."
He explained that most shops and backyard mechanics toying with their TRX builds will immediately yank out the Bilsteins and pop in a set of standard coilovers, just for the simplicity factor. But they then lose the ability to adjust the shocks using the different factory drive modes, which change rebound speeds and shock density. By adding two more, Apocalypse only makes the Warlord all the more fun, especially while retaining the launch control and off-road settings.
"Launch mode in six-wheel drive is insane, no slipping, you’re just going!" Ghattas said. "You put this thing on Sport and punch it, it doesn’t squat at all. You put it on Mud/Sand and it’s got tons of travel, very easygoing."
From 4x4 To 6x6
I asked how Apocalypse worked around the differences between the TRX's permanent four-wheel-drive system and a Jeep's true transfer case, which allows for rear-drive only. Ghattas replied by explaining the Ram's 70-30 rear-to-front torque split and how he designed the 6x6 driveline.
"There’s no engaging or disengaging the front," he said, "There’s just increase of a clutch, decreasing slip. So, let’s say you’re cruising along the road in sport mode in four-wheel-drive high or six-wheel drive high, you have 70% of the power in the back and 30% in the front. As soon as it detects a slip, you go to 50-50. You pop off the road, you’re in a bit of sand or dirt and you try to do a donut, it goes 50-50 and now you’ve got all six wheels equal."
But how does the in-house center axle split power between the rear four wheels?
"We use an Eaton locker in the middle that tandems right in," Ghattas went on. "Our mechanical distribution handles the distribution of power over the rear four tires. But the rear four are always powered."
"It actually drives a little better because when you have the six-wheel Gladiator and you power the rear four, you can overpower the front two tires in a slippery situation. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the slop or the wet, if you stomp on the power, the Warlord is not going to oversteer."
Tuning The Hellcat For A Bit More Bite
After all, just about every Dodge or Jeep product that comes with a Hellcat will immediately fishtail the rear wheels when the supercharger spools up after a quick mash of the throttle. And Apocalypse tuned the TRX's already potent powerplant to help make up for the build's additional heft, since all the components for a 6x6 result in a curb weight around 10,000 pounds.
"You’d be amazed how much power is left on the table in these things. The difference in a Hellcat, a Demon, and a Hellephant is really just a difference in pressure and tuning."
Unlike the Gladiator-based Hellfire that Apocalypse offers with an LS or Hellcat swap and even a diesel option, the Warlord keeps its factory engine.
"It’s all the same 6.2-liter big-block V8 with a supercharger on there," he laughed, "We’re running six pounds more boost, larger injectors, and a software flash."
The resultant 797 horsepower—equal to a stock Challenger Redeye—should do a great job propelling the Warlord down the road, if my experience in the Gladiator 6x6 with "only" 750 horsepower proved anything.
Comparisons To A Stock TRX
Comparing any pickup to a Ram TRX often comes across as an apples-to-grapefruit exercise, even taking into consideration the Ford F-150 Raptor that Stellantis (née Fiat-Chrysler) clearly targeted given the truck's dinosaur-inspired moniker (not to mention Easter egg logos). But I asked Ghattas how the Warlord stacks up against a stock four-wheeled TRX.
"From a few people that have come out and driven it who own a Ram TRX," he responded, "They say they can’t tell the difference driving the 6x6 version. To me, I’m used to driving the Jeep 6x6 that’s a little tighter and lighter and bumpier. This thing rides like a Cadillac, just smooth. It’s a much bigger vehicle, it’s a monster."
From a sheer size perspective, photos fail to do the Warlord justice. Ghattas told me that his Jeep 6x6 conversions have just about the same measurements of a long-bed Ford F-150—and the Warlord sits a full foot taller and two feet longer!
A Lift That Improves Towing Capacity
The Warlord runs 3.55 final-drive gearing, as opposed to the 5.55 ratio on an Apocalypse Hellfire, thanks to the TRX's beefier axles. The truck also gets a four-inch lift—though not in the traditional sense of lifting a pickup at all four corners.
"I lift the front of the truck four inches," Ghattas explained. "The back of the truck, I just add another set of factory springs and it sits dead level with the front because you have twice as much spring pressure pushing up on the back of the truck. Now, it takes twice as much weight to compress the back of that truck down."
Those additional springs and shocks also result in another fun detail for the Warlord, it turns out.
"Other than coolness and badass-ness," Ghattas revealed, "The main real gain of a 6x6 is towing. You have two gigantic axles with four sets of springs and four shocks to handle the load instead of one. So the towing goes up dramatically."
On paper, the 6x6 conversion results in almost a 50% increase in towing capacity, from the stock TRX's 8,100 pounds to 12,000 pounds. That's with the aggressive 37-inch Milestar Patagonia tires, too, which just about max out the stock front wheel wells. But when I asked about a potential Warlord with 40s to match the Hellfire, Ghattas hinted at a forthcoming change in Apocalypse's manufacturing process that indicates his confidence in the TRX platform.
“In November, I’m going to stop using the Gladiator," he said, "We’re going to move on to using the TRX for our Hellfire. I mean by that, exactly what the Hellfire looks like but on the chassis of the TRX. Bigger longer, heavier, and we’ll be able to put 40-inchers on that because it’s our flares, our fenders."
Shipped To Barrett-Jackson At No Reserve
Apocalypse shipped the Warlord to Scottsdale, Arizona, for next week's Barrett-Jackson auction, which will feature the remarkable 100% no-reserve format that the auction house typically avoids in the hopes of providing a safety net for cars valued over seven figures. I asked Ghattas if selling the Warlord at no reserve seemed like a bit of risk, especially given that multiple customers have already made offers of $300,000 for the truck.
"This has been the plan since the day I built it," he admitted. "Some of the excitement is that we turned down these big numbers, when everything in the book says we should have taken them. I want to see it go at Barrett-Jackson. It’s not about collecting the shekels and putting them in the bank, it’s about seeing where it ends up because I honestly believe Barrett-Jackson determines the value of something."
"People can tell you all day long, 'My classic is worth X, Y, or Z,'" he laughed. "But what’s the last guy willing to pay for it? That’s what she’s really worth—and I want Barrett-Jackson to determine that, not me."
If the decision sounds pretty bold, keep in mind that Apocalypse already sold a diesel Doomsday 6x6 at Barrett-Jackson last year and netted about $30,000 over their typical ask. They also sold a G-Wagen 6x6 conversion with full-on portal axles.
"You really don’t know what that car’s worth, it could be a million, could be a hundred grand. Who knows, right? It went for $450,000 and I said,'That’s what it’s worth! Amazing!'"
Coming right up next week, Ghattas and Apocalypse Manufacturing (not to mention the rest of the automotive industry as a whole) will find out exactly what the Warlord 6x6 is worth in today's booming collector car marketplace.
Sources: ramtrucks.com, apocalypse6x6.com, soflojeeps.com, barrett-jackson.com, and ford.com.