Mercedes Unimog Takes On Hell’s Revenge
Andre Smirnov from TFLoffroad joins Couch Off-Road Engineering to take on Hell’s Revenge in a Mercedes Unimog.
The powers that be at Mercedes-Benz are focusing their attention on developing new high-riding models. The company recently confirmed that its forthcoming EQA and EQS sedans will be accompanied by their SUV variants, which will be based on the company’s Electric Vehicle Architecture (EVA Platform).
We also have a soft corner for modified Mercedes off-roaders, whether they are ultra-luxurious reproductions like Mansory’s Gronos 2021 or Couch Off-Road Engineering‘s Unimog rig. In one of its recent videos, Andre Smirnov from the YouTube channel TFLoffroad got a chance to go off-roading with Jay Couch and his company’s Unimog four-wheel-drive semi-truck.
The team chose Hell’s Revenge trail in Moab, Utah, as the stage for the showdown. Safe to say, Watching this off-road beast take on one of the most challenging terrains in the country was definitely an adrenalin-fueled ride. It’s no surprise that this formidable Unimog off-road rig costs $385,000. So you may ask who would buy such a truck.
“I have some really phenomenal customers, very patient as well,” Jay told TFLoffroad. He further added, “Most of our guys nowadays are for kind of traveling the world, um because this is truly a global, you know, expectation truck. This is really what you use for going across Africa, Namibia, South America, Russia.”
A few Jeep Wranglers also joined the team on its Unimog expedition. The truck featured in the video is a 90s model, and Couch Off-road Engineering is one of the very few companies that offer Unimog in the United States as the company has to ship in models that comply with the 25-year import rule.
The truck featured in the video has been heavily modified, and its powerplant has been tweaked to produce 320 HP of maximum power and 800 lb-ft of peak torque. The motor comes mated to an 8-speed manual gearbox, and as Jay points out, all gears are reversible.
Jay also shared his thoughts on Unimog’s performance and told Andre, “This one, I haven’t maxed it out, I get to 80 miles an hour, and it just feels unnatural at that speed, so I usually cruise at 65, to 70/75.”
Couch Off-road Engineering’s Unimog can also achieve speeds of up to 80 MPH in reverse. The truck weighs almost 13,000 lbs and rides on 46-inch all-terrain tires with a ground clearance of 19 inches which meant it could easily dominate the Hell’s Revenge trail.