Formula 1-Styled Humvee Sold for as Much as 14 Average Americans Make in a Year

Sure, there are a lot of factors to take into account when talking about nationwide salaries, from industry to state, but one can easily get a solid picture of how things are by going for an average.

Forbes did just that, and says that in 2023 the nationwide salary average in the U.S. was a little over $59,000. That's below the estimated $70,000 needed for a comfortable standard of living, and well below the $100k everyday Americans would really need to feel happy with their lives.

All of the above means that most people living in the U.S. would need 14 years to save $825,000 while not spending a single dime to support themselves. Alternatively, it would take 14 Americans a whole year to come up with the sum, again without spending a single dime.

Why am I bringing up $825,000? Because that's how much a single American paid for the most badass Humvee you've probably ever seen.

We talked about this vehicle at length not long ago, as it was getting ready to go under the hammer at the hands of auction house Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona. It did so last weekend, selling for, well, $825,000.

The custom vehicle is based on a 2009 Humvee that by the looks of it served with the U.S. Marine Corps. It was modified by a French custom crew called Danton Arts Kustoms, who obviously spared no expense in making the military SUV unique in its family.

The first feature that makes it so is the fitting of an extra set of wheels. We've now got two up front and four at the rear, styled in a fashion that is meant to be reminiscent of a Formula 1 car. At the front the wheels are sized 20 inches, while the ones at the back come in at 24 inches.

The same Formula 1 feeling you get when you look at the simply massive wing at the back, constructed from a modified aircraft wing of undisclosed provenance.

The Humvee is powered by a Hellcat 6.2-liter engine that sends to the wheels, in bursts controlled by a 4L80E automatic transmission, no less than 717 horsepower.

To our knowledge, this is the first time the Humvee has sold at auction (and after a bitter fight, as this was a no reserve sale), but chances are it will not be the last. We have no info on the identity of the buyer, but that probably matters little in the grand scheme of things.