What do you get when someone decides to “rat-rod” a Willys Jeep from 1945? Rat rods are custom cars that imitate and exaggerate early hot rods. I have to say that despite its low ground clearance, this particular rat looks like it could go toe to toe with dune buggies.

The team at Randy Ellis Design were inspired by the 1945 Willys Jeep. This kind of Jeep was used by the US Army in World War II. However, these guys built their vehicle from scratch with a custom fiberglass shell. There are some authentic Willys parts throughout the build, but it has plenty of modern features like an air bag suspension that gives it 7-inches of travel. It’s powered by a 1977 Chevy 350 V8, which is coupled with a 3-speed automatic transmission for plenty of torque.

This ride does look pretty awesome, though I wonder how it would fare in a race against a dedicated sport UTV like the Polaris RZR.

[via Hi Consumption]