History Hits: Heaviest Production Passenger Vehicles

Usually, the weight of your vehicle is only a bragging point if you are light, or lighter than normal. After all, removing weight is one of the easiest ways to improve performance in a vehicle. Having a rather portly vehicle usually means you won’t be the quickest kid on the block, but sometimes, that doesn’t matter. Sometimes, it is all about size. For these two vehicles, the heaviest production passenger car and truck (non-utility-ish) in history, beefiness seemed to be the name of the game.

Heaviest Production Passenger Sedan 

What better way to test a new road, than the heaviest car ever?

When I started researching for this article I was surprised to find that I had already written about the heaviest production car in history; the Mercedes-Benz 770K. While calling this car a ‘production’ car may be generous, as only 21 were made, they were limited not by production capability, but by customers who could afford the car. Despite only having 21 examples ever, there were, surprisingly, two distinct models; a supercharged and non-supercharged model choice.

The Roots-style supercharger was optioned on 13 of the cars, attached to an inline-8 cylinder 7.7L engine, which relied heavily on aluminum in its construction. Despite the weight-saving alloy in the engine, the car’s armored body and fully-boxed frame quickly added up to a staggering 10,582lbs. Helping the car to this weight was the sheer size of the car, at an equally staggering 240” long, and 81” wide; 38” longer than a modern GLS-class seven passenger Mercedes SUV.

These armored, convertible, limousines are often what Adolf Hitler and his generals were pictured and filmed in, as the expensive vehicles were normally reserved for parade use. The car is believed to be the most expensive Mercedes up to this point, however price is hard to nail down as it was listed as “Please Enquire”.

Heaviest Production Passenger SUV/Truck

Just as I was generous calling the 770K above a production vehicle, I am equally generous calling the heaviest truck/SUV/thing a production vehicle; but, you can technically order one. While the Mercedes-Benz 770K weighed 10,582lbs with its 240” of length, the Conquest Knight XV totals 13,000lbs or more at the same length. I say “or more” because the Conquest Knight XV is a totally custom-made vehicle, taking approximately 4,000 hours to build at the production facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

As part of the custom-ordering process, customers can select from a number of armor packages and protection systems. Weight will vary depending on what is chosen, however with such options as a built-in oxygen survival kit, under-vehicle magnetic attachment detection system, and a black box system, the weight can quickly skyrocket. Powering all this bulk is a somewhat mild-sounding V10, producing 325hp and 400lb-ft or an equally insufficient-sounding diesel, making 300hp and 660lb-ft of torque. Just as you can option the exterior, the engines both have available performance packages, boosting power to desired levels.

The customizations continue on the inside, with seating for six available. The cab has the normal two seats, while the passenger compartment can be equipped with two seats facing forward and two seats facing backward, or simply two seats with lots of room for equipment. And there is equipment on offer. These include luxury carpeting, leather upholstery, custom flat screen television in the cab and a TracVision satellite system, navigation, Bluetooth equipment and overhead tandem sunroof, Rear TV Monitors with night vision and rear op camera system with a PlayStation or Xbox for when the outside is too boring.

To further increase weight, there is now an optional commercial grade multi-link air ride suspension system, to make the ride as smooth as possible, although the suspension may be the weak spot at that point.

Pricing is all based on the order, but will easily surpass $1,000,000.

Think I missed an even heavier vehicle? Let me know down below, and don’t forget to like and share the article.