Jeep Gladiator Apocalypse 6x6
Custom 6-Wheel-Drive Build · Apocalypse Mfg
Jeep Gladiator Apocalypse 6x6
A 2020 Gladiator reborn on a bespoke steel chassis with a third driven axle, a 500-hp HEMI V8 and six 40-inch tires — one of roughly 180 of the rarest custom Jeeps ever built.
The Build Story
Some vehicles roll off an assembly line. This one was fabricated, axle by axle, in a 41,000-square-foot shop in Pompano Beach, Florida. This is our full guide to the Apocalypse 6x6 — the six-wheel-drive Jeep Gladiator that started life as an ordinary truck and ended up one of the rarest custom builds on the road.
The donor is a 2020 Jeep Gladiator JT — from the factory, a 285-hp, 3.6-litre V6 pickup. What Apocalypse Manufacturing does to it is not a bolt-on kit and not a stretch job. They strip the body, throw away the factory chassis, and build an entirely new bespoke steel frame from scratch — one long enough to carry a third axle. Then they drop a 6.4-litre HEMI V8 where the V6 used to live, hang six 40-inch tires off it, and set the Gladiator body back on top. The result is a truck that shares its sheet metal with a normal Jeep and almost nothing else.
Apocalypse is a family business: founder Joe Ghattas started it around 2012 in Fort Lauderdale, and it has grown into a Discovery Channel reality show (Truck Dynasty) with a celebrity client list that runs from Shaquille O'Neal to Guy Fieri. The 6x6 is the halo build — sold exclusively through their SoFlo Customs dealership arm — and only around 180 of them exist anywhere in the world.
“Apocalypse does not stretch the Jeep's frame. They throw it away and fabricate a brand-new chassis from scratch.”
A note on the photos on this page: no free, openly-licensed photograph of the finished Apocalypse 6x6 conversion exists, so the images here show a standard Jeep Gladiator JT for context. For photos of the actual six-wheeled build, see the inventory listing.
A New Chassis, Not a Stretch
This is the part people get wrong, so it is worth being precise. A 6x6 conversion can be done two ways: you can cut the factory frame and weld in an extension, or you can build a completely new frame. Apocalypse does the latter. They fabricate an entirely new ladder chassis, purpose-engineered for the third axle and the loads it carries, and mount the Gladiator's body onto it. A custom 8-foot bed is fabricated to cover the rear section.
The Gladiator is the right starting point for exactly this reason: it is the only body-on-frame pickup in the Jeep lineup — the only one with a separate ladder frame rather than a unibody. A truck designed from day one around a removable body sitting on a rigid frame is far easier to re-platform than a car where the body is the structure. The Gladiator also ended a 27-year gap in Jeep's pickup range (the last was the Comanche, gone in 1992), and it arrived already engineered to be worked hard.
The numbers tell the story of how much gets added. A base Gladiator weighs roughly 4,700–5,100 lbs; the finished 6x6 comes in around 6,000 lbs — somewhere between 900 and 1,300 lbs of new chassis, third axle, larger tires, armor and bed. On the standard build, suspension is handled by a Teraflex lift on Falcon shocks front and rear.
The 6.4L HEMI Transplant
The factory Gladiator never came with a V8. This one does — because Apocalypse takes the V6 out and puts one in.
From the factory, the 2020 Gladiator JT is a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 making 285 hp and 260 lb-ft — a perfectly good truck engine and nothing more. Apocalypse pulls it. In its place goes the 6.4-litre 392 HEMI V8, the same Stellantis "Apache" big-block family shared with the Dodge Challenger SRT 392 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. In the Apocalypse build it is tuned to 500 hp — nearly double the output the truck left the factory with.
This is a full transplant, not a tune: a different engine, different displacement, different cylinder count. Power runs through a heavy-duty 8-speed automatic (the unit from the Ram 3500) out to all three axles. A manual gearbox can be specified, though the builder notes the clutch wears quickly on a vehicle this heavy.
For the record, Apocalypse offers other powerplants on the Hellfire line — a 717-hp supercharged Hellcat and a 3.0-litre Cummins turbodiesel among them — but the 6.4 HEMI is the V8 at the heart of this particular build.
How Six-Wheel Drive Works
The "6x6" badge is literal: all six wheels are driven, and that is the whole point. This is not a dead "tag axle" tacked on for show — it is a proprietary mechanically-driven tandem rear axle with a 1:1 power transfer between the two rear units, so the rearmost axle pulls as hard as the one ahead of it.
Driver-selectable drive modes
- 6WD: all three axles drive — maximum traction for soft, loose or steep terrain.
- 4WD: the driver can drop back to front axle plus the primary rear axle for normal road manners and less driveline drag.
- Lockers: the standard Hellfire spec includes full lockers on both rear axles for genuine low-traction crawling.
None of that comes at the expense of being a truck. The 6x6 is rated to tow 12,000 lbs and carries a 9,500-lb winch and optional exterior Kevlar coating — a show vehicle that can still do a truck's job.
Exact wheel, tire and locker specification can vary by build year and options. For this specific 2020 unit, the precise tire/wheel and locker configuration should be confirmed against the build sheet.
Why It's Special
The civilian six-wheeler was a Mercedes idea first. The Mercedes-AMG G63 6x6 proved the concept between 2013 and 2015 — roughly 100 were built worldwide, it cost about $511,000 new, and clean examples now trade between $900,000 and well over $1.5 million. It made the six-wheel super-truck a fantasy object.
Apocalypse made it (relatively) attainable. The Hellfire 6x6 starts around $149,000 — about 29 cents on the dollar of the G63's original sticker, and a small fraction of what a used G63 6x6 commands today — while delivering the same headline idea: six driven wheels, a V8, and presence you cannot ignore. With only about 180 built (roughly 150 in the US and 30 internationally as of 2024 reporting), it is genuinely rare without being unobtainable.
And because this is a US-market 2020 vehicle, there is no grey-market import barrier, no 25-year rule and no port paperwork. It is a domestic truck that happens to have been rebuilt from the frame up. Buyers should simply confirm their state will title and register the custom 6x6 axle configuration — something Octane can help walk through.
“The G63 6x6 cost over half a million dollars new. The Apocalypse build delivers the same idea for a fraction of it.”
Where Can You Take It?
This build already lives at the extreme — a six-wheel-drive, V8-swapped Gladiator on a scratch-built chassis. But owners and the builder push it even further, in four well-trodden directions.
Expedition Monster
The 9,500-lb winch is just the start. Add a roof rack, a roof-top tent, and long-range fuel and water tanks and the 6x6 becomes a self-contained six-wheel basecamp. With six driven 40-inch tires and a 12,000-lb tow rating, it can carry the whole camp deep off the grid.
Warlord Tier
The 500-hp 6.4 HEMI is the standard heart, but Apocalypse offers a supercharged Hellcat option on its top trim — a 700-plus-hp tier that dwarfs the already-quick V8. It turns a heavy show truck into something genuinely violent off the line.
Viral Crowd-Puller
This is the role the 6x6 was born for. Six wheels, 40-inch tires and a Kevlar-coated body draw a crowd in any parking lot, and these trucks are a fixture of car-show and social-media reels. Wraps, lighting and chrome accents lean into the spectacle.
Serious Crawler
Behind the show looks is real capability. Full lockers on both rear axles plus six driven wheels give it traction a normal truck cannot match, and a Teraflex lift on Falcon shocks soaks up the terrain. Spec it for the trail and it crawls as hard as it poses.
Did You Know?
Apocalypse builds an entirely new steel chassis from scratch for every 6x6 — they do not extend the factory Gladiator frame.
The stock Gladiator is a 285-hp V6 truck. The 6.4 HEMI is a full V8 transplant, tuned to 500 hp — nearly double.
Only about 180 exist worldwide — roughly 150 in the US and 30 internationally as of 2024.
The Gladiator is the only body-on-frame pickup in the Jeep lineup — the only one with a separate ladder frame, which is what suits it to a third axle.
Each of the six tires stands 40 inches tall — 1,016 mm, taller than a standard kitchen counter.
The Mercedes-AMG G63 6x6 proved the format — about 100 built, ~$511,000 new, and $900k to $1.5M-plus used today.
Jay Leno drove unit #79 on his garage show and called it solidly built — fewer than 100 existed at that point.
Despite the show-truck looks, it is rated to tow 12,000 lbs and carries a 9,500-lb winch.
Gallery
The shots below show a standard Jeep Gladiator JT for context. For photos of the actual Apocalypse 6x6, see the inventory listing.
Frequently Asked
Is the Apocalypse 6x6 a factory Jeep?
No. It is a custom build by Apocalypse Manufacturing in Pompano Beach, Florida, starting from a 2020 Jeep Gladiator JT. Apocalypse fabricates an entirely new steel chassis from scratch, transplants a V8, and adds a third driven axle. Jeep itself never offered a six-wheel-drive Gladiator.
Does Apocalypse extend the factory Gladiator frame?
No, and this is a common misunderstanding. Apocalypse does not stretch or splice the factory frame. They build a completely new ladder chassis engineered for the third axle and mount the Gladiator body onto it. The Gladiator suits this because it is the only body-on-frame pickup Jeep makes.
How much power does it make?
This build runs the 6.4-litre 392 HEMI V8 tuned to 500 hp. That is a full engine transplant. The stock Gladiator ships with a 3.6-litre V6 making 285 hp, so the conversion nearly doubles the factory output. Apocalypse also offers a 717-hp supercharged Hellcat and a Cummins turbodiesel on the Hellfire line.
How does the six-wheel drive actually work?
It uses a proprietary mechanically-driven tandem rear axle with a 1:1 power transfer, so both rear axles drive. The driver can select 6WD for maximum traction or drop to 4WD for the road, and the standard spec includes full lockers on both rear axles. All six wheels can be driven at once.
How rare is it?
Approximately 180 have been built worldwide, roughly 150 in the United States and 30 internationally, as of 2024 reporting, with production ongoing. For comparison, the Mercedes-AMG G63 6x6 that pioneered the format saw about 100 cars built and cost over 500,000 dollars new.
Is it legal to own and register in the US?
Yes. It is a US-market 2020 vehicle, so there is no import barrier, no 25-year rule and no port paperwork. The only thing to confirm is that your state will title and register the custom six-wheel axle configuration, which varies by state. Octane can help you work through that.