From The Classifieds: Hummer H1

Always consciously politically incorrect, the H1 Hummer exemplifies all that is American: big, confident, seemingly indestructible and, with its blatant military connections, bringing new meaning to the term overkill.

Spawned by the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, or Humvee) that became a constant backdrop in images of the 1990 Gulf War and then anywhere the US had a military presence, the all-wheel drive behemoth is the 21st century Jeep – with one of two enhancements making it suitable for action in modern battlefields.

Designed to resist land mines and able to continue on its way with a wheel blasted off, the angular Humvee is about as close to anything short of a full-blown tank to being an irresistible force – although in real terms it actually classifies, in armoured form, as a 'light' armoured vehicle. Light in combat parlance only.

Originally designed for the US military by AM General Corporation (formed in 1971 as a subsidiary of the then Jeep Corporation), the Humvee was conceived at the end of the 1970s, with prototypes actually being tested prior to the company’s winning (against the likes of Lamborghini) in 1983 of a contract to supply the US armed forces.

Standing around 1.8 metres tall, measuring a massive 2.1 metres wide and weighing up to 2680kg, most Humvees are powered by a GM-sourced 6.5-litre V8 turbodiesel. Aided by three differentials (Torsen front and rear, lockable in the centre) the Humvee was able to ford water as deep as 1.5 metres (with an optional deep water kit) and had a fully independent wishbone suspension giving a ground clearance of 406mm. The all-wheel disc brakes were mounted inboard.

The Humvee was available in more than 17 configurations, with applications ranging from troop carrier to weapons platform -- firing rockets or heavy-duty machine guns. At times criticised for a shortfall in the effectiveness of its armour plating, the Humvee was subsequently beefed up in this context until the advent of an improved M1151 model.

In civilian guise, it became the Hummer and, championed by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis, found brief fame as a poke in the nose for the environmental movement, only to expire as the global financial crisis hit and its then-owner General Motors went bankrupt.

It was the wrong vehicle at the wrong time. Hummer as a brand did come to Australia under Holden’s wing in 2007 but the only model on offer was the smaller Rodeo/Colorado-based H3. The original H1 was not included in the lineup. Consequently there are just a few H1s on Australian roads today.

Hiding among the numerous H1 replicas available locally is this original, military-spec vehicle from Moorebank in NSW.

Appropriately coloured Desert Storm and complete with a heavy-duty undercarriage crash bar, Super Swamper tyres and a long-range fuel tank, the 1996 left hand drive Hummer comes with an asking price of $82,500 – and no roadworthy certificate.

Its civilian credentials include leather seats, air-conditioning, cruise control and a CD player.

The asking price might be heady, but one thing is for sure -- you are never going to go unnoticed in a genuine Hummer H1.