James Glickenhaus is a certified car fanatic, being responsible for all manner of insane projects like creating the one-off Ferrari P4/5 and making the Pininfarina-designed Modulo concept road-legal. His latest endeavor is perhaps his strangest yet: making a high-end off-roader capable of taking on the Baja 1000 desert race.
Teaming up with Armada Engineering, Glickenhaus's car-making outfit SCG produced the Boot. It's fully road legal, and it's quite possibly the most extreme off-road SUV out there. Not to mention, it's all-American. As cartoonish as it may seem, it's a serious piece of kit, one thatneeds to be seen to be believed. So, let's take a look at this strange but brilliant beast with a quick rundown of what's important to know about the SCG Boot.
10 Why Name It The Boot?
The name Boot might seem a bit of an odd choice, but it's actually a reference to the original incarnation of the car, built by Vic Hickey in the 1960s. Hickey's Boot was named after the Baja Boot, a colloquial term for the part of Mexico where the Baja 1000 race takes place.
The original car used a Chevy Camaro V8 and Corvette diffs to create a muscle-car off-roader that was so impressive it caught the attention of Steve McQueen, who raced it a year after it was unveiled. The SCG Boot is heavily inspired by that original car, hence the name was also carried over.
9 A Road-Legal Trophy Truck
If the Boot looks like a trophy truck with registration plates, that's because that's exactly what Glickenhaus built it to be. The idea was to create something that could drive to the Baja 1000, finish the whole race, and then drive home.
That's exactly what the company did in 2019, beating long-time competitors Ford while they were at it. Like many Trophy Trucks, the Boot is available to buy on commission, for the price of $258,750. That means privateer teams with enough cash can buy their own to compete at Baja or any other desert race.
8 Fox Shocks And BFGoodrich Tires
The Boot sports a huge 19" of suspension travel thanks to Fox shocks, with 39" BFGoodrich tires keeping things firmly planted to the ground. That combination means the Boot effortlessly blazes over terrain that would stop even Jeeps and Land Rovers in their tracks.
There's also a winch fitted on the off-chance that the driver does manage to get the car stuck. Although, with a car this capable, getting stuck would almost be an impressive feat in itself.
7 A Chevy V8
The Boot's engine is, like the original Sixties car, a Chevy unit, this time a supercharged 6.2L LT4 from a Camaro. It makes a total of 650 hp, making it scarily fast on the road as well as over dirt.
It's mated to a more sensible GM four-speed transmission to keep things under control. SCG doesn't say if there are any upgrades available, but the engine could likely be further squeezed for even more power if a buyer had the cash. Not that 650 hp isn't already a terrifying amount of horses.
6 Weird Looks
Okay, so this is the part where the Boot gets a bit weird. It's clearly a car built for function over form, but even so, the rounded, sunken headlights are an odd choice that makes the Boot look like a spider from the front.
The back is more of a traditional Trophy Truck look, although the engine is still unusually exposed and high up. It's certainly not going to win any awards for its looks, but it's a whole lot meaner than a Rolls-Royce Cullinan or Aston Martin DBX, cars that the Boot was built to be the antithesis of.
5 Armor Plated Option
For anyone concerned about being shot at while racing in their Boot, SCG has also offered to armor plate the car to add even more invincibility. The company offers up to Level 6 armor protection, which will stop both shotguns and high-powered rifles.
That upgrade won't come cheap of course, as the package adds $166,750 to the price of the car, bringing the total to $425,500. That's Rolls-Royce money for a car that's not nearly as glamorous, but then the Rolls won't stop a speeding bullet. The Boot will, and it'll be ideal as an all-terrain getaway vehicle too.
4 An Exclusive Vehicle
As would be expected for such an insane but expensive car, production is heavily restricted to just ten units a year. That means anyone wanting to buy one will likely have to go on a waiting list, although Glickenhaus did express an interest in raising yearly production numbers further down the line.
Either way, this isn't going to be a car that's sat in the corner of every shopping mall parking lot. In fact, it'll be a rarity to see one at all, but the roar of that V8 at least means passersby will have plenty of warning to get their cameras at the ready.
3 Usable Everyday
While the Boot is hardly the ideal commuter car, it does sport a number of modern conveniences that set it apart from a purely race-bred Trophy Truck. For starters, the Sparco seats are out of the Lotus Evora, which means they're surprisingly comfortable and ready for touring as much as they are racing.
There are also things like Apple CarPlay cupholders and USB ports, so anyone wanting to do a morning coffee run can quite happily do so. The Boot is a wide car so it's going to be tricky to fit it down any narrow side streets, but out on the open road, it might make a deceptively entertaining cruiser. That is if the driver can ignore the copious amounts of body roll.
2 Seats Up To Four
Depending on the owner's tastes, the Boot can either be had in a two or four-seat configuration. The rear seats, like the front, come courtesy of Sparco and can be accessed via a set of small suicide doors.
Luggage space will be slightly more of a problem, although anyone planning to road trip their Boot could strap some belongings onto the roof of the car via the roof rails. All in all, it makes for a surprisingly practical offering, at least given its credentials as a hardcore racing off-roader.
1 What's Not To Like?
Really, for a seriously capable SUV, the Boot is pretty much unbeatable. It's hardcore enough that even the most die-hard racing fanatics will love it, practical enough to do the odd road trip in and it's all-American too.
Sure, it looks pretty strange, and in general, it might not be the obvious vehicle to spend close to $300,000 on. But, as weird as it is, it's an undeniably cool piece of kit that any off-road enthusiast would surely love to get their hands on.