When you think of military vehicles, you likely think of things like the M1 Abrams tank, Oshkosh's MRAP, Polaris' MRZR, or something along the lines of the A-10 Warthog. Armed to the teeth. Armor as thick as your arm. And ready for combat. Vehicles that are burly, beastly things that look as though they can take a hit and keep going. Because they can, as that's what they're designed to do.
I'm not sure I get that impression with Massimo Group's adorable little two-seat armored UTV, which was just drafted through a contract with both the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army. It gives kid playing soldier versus SpecOps warfighter.
Either way, it's in the Army now, and it'll have to show up and maybe get a little bit of Steve Rogers' super serum, as it's heading into combat, and those lanky arms aren't gonna cut it against Hydra or the Red Skull. Or whoever we're fighting these days.
"Massimo Group, a manufacturer and distributor of powersports vehicles and tritoon and pontoon boats, today announced continued momentum within its expanding government and military fleet business, including confirmed purchase orders from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army," starts the brand's press release, adding, "The orders are expected to support facility operations, maintenance, logistics movement, and day-to-day fleet activities."
OK, so they're not combat-focused, but rather designed to help support base activities, logistics, and more, which makes sense when you look at the UTVs. They may be armored, in drag sand, and have all the roll bars and protections you'd expect in a Humvee or GM's UTV-ized Colorado, but it's for getting around and bringing supplies to places.
The Warrior UTV, which features a payload of 1,500 pounds, may be one of the UTVs Massimo builds that are on offer to the DOD, and features a roof rack and rear bed, seating for two to four, and an 85-horsepower engine. Again, not an MRZR.
That said, I'd love to see a .50 cal attached to it and fired, as the recoil has to be hysterical.
Massimo is out of Garland, Texas, and focuses its business on fleet sales versus consumer sales, i.e., it's more akin to John Deere vs. Polaris or Can-Am. The contract's terms haven't been released to the public as of this writing, but the DOD recently put a $100 million order with Polaris for the brand's MRZRs and other UTVs, which support a host of situations and requirements.
"Our confirmed purchase orders from the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army represent an important milestone for Massimo's expanding fleet business," says Quenton Petersen, Chief Executive Officer of Massimo Group, adding, "These orders demonstrate the practical value of Massimo vehicles in operational environments where durability, versatility and cost efficiency are critical. We believe our growing traction with government and military customers further validates our fleet strategy and our ability to serve demanding institutional buyers."
