Military Rides: The Desert Patrol Vehicle

For those who think that this is some type of ice cream delivery vehicle, I can respect your passion for sweets, however the Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) is the furthest thing from a confection unit for Willy Wonka. The DPV is a lightly armored dune buggy type vehicle that was used heavily in Operation Desert Storm and utilized by the Navy SEALs.

The DPV is constructed by Chenowth Racing Products,  a company that specializes in off-road vehicles. The DPV is rear-wheel drive, a departure from its counterparts that have used four-wheel drive. It is powered by a  200-hp Volkswagen engine thatr eaches a top speed of 80-mph and a 0-30 mph in four seconds.

The DPV can travel about 210 miles on a tank of gas, and can be fitted with a fuel bladder  that can take it 1,000 miles. With two soldiers strapped to it and weaponry.  you thought I wasn’t going to talk weapons? Come on, this is Knuckle Dragger. The DPV  is equipped with a heavy .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun, two lighter 7.62×51 mm M60 machine guns, and two M136 AT4 anti-armor weapons.

On occasion, the driver’s M60 or the gunner’s M2 can be replaced with the 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher. Additional light machine guns like the M240 machine gun or 5.56×45 mm M249 SAW can be mounted.

The DPV has become a cult classic, relatively speaking. First off, it’s Chuck Norris Approved. It was featured in the 1989 war movie “Delta Force”, George Clooney’s “Three Kings”, and The Transformers, to name a few. It is also featured in the video game “Battlefield”.