The Rhino GX: Playground Bully
The Rhino GX is the SUV’s SUV, but it’s not for everyone.
Written by Alex Reale
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Table of Contents
The large, heavy Rhino GX hits the logical extreme of the SUV concept.
King of the savannah
The 2018 USSV Rhino GX is built by US Specialty Vehicles in Southern California, a firm that self-reports specializing in “bringing uniquely designed and re-engineered luxury sport utility vehicles to life.”
Like its namesake, the Rhino is armored, thickset, and not something you want to see bearing down on you. Based on a Ford F450 chassis, it weighs in at a whopping 14,000 pounds, and its 7x8 foot bulk is mounted on 38-inch wheels. Muddy backroads, stand not at ease.
The Rhino incorporates the aesthetic of a Cadillac Escalade with a dash of Hummer and military, and the overall effect is jarring. The front of the vehicle features a standard issue SUV grille, except the headlights are flanked by boxy flared fenders—perhaps the rhino’s horns.
The body is matte and angular, featuring asymmetrical hexagonal windows. The roof is studded with bright lights, no doubt for the illumination of trespassers to the compound. This tank isn’t exactly ready for brunch on the Lower East Side.
A hard shell…
The Rhino also puts the “utility” in “sport utility vehicle.” It will happily tow 10,000 pounds, and it can off-road with the best of them on a 6.8L V10 engine.
It’s quite safe, too—USSV notes that the Rhino sports a steel roll cage body structure and plenty of airbags. The Rhino also uses the type of suspension system favored by makers of vehicles like RVs, ambulances, and buses, says
MotorTrend
. It’s also bulletproof, if that’s your thing.It’s not terribly approachable, but at least two high profile American celebrities have added them to their garages. Quavo, of Migos, recently drove off from a concert in his black Rhino GX, says
autoevolution
, but fellow rapper 2 Chainz clearly had the idea first, posting on social media about his black Rhino GX way back in 2017, according to Dupont Registry
. They’re probably easier to park when you have a few hard-earned mansions to choose from.…and a hard sell
The Rhino GX is big and bold, and a bit polarizing. It certainly doesn’t help that it’s scandalously expensive—interested parties have to spend $250,000 to protect six friends in their vehicular bodyguard—and too large for normal street driving. There are only a few hundred that have sold in the U.S. so far, but
MotorTrend
notes that USSV may have found a market in China. We’ll see if USSV figures out how to capture the bustling SUV market here in the States.Looking to insure your normal-sized SUV?
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