Every year, we see more and more manufacturers building special edition vehicles – virtual or in the metal and flesh – in conjunction with video game developers. Unlike the Vision Gran Turismo virtual supercas, Ford, along with Xbox, 343 Industries and Galpin Auto Sports, have just announced a real-life F-150 Halo Sandcat to celebrate Halo 5: Guardians, due to be released for Xbox One.
On display at the E3 conference this week, the special edition Sandcat looks right at home with something the bad-ass Master Chief would drive himself. Anything Galpin or Halo piques our interest so the Sandcat gets a two thumbs up from us and better yet, an article on the truck itself.
The F-150 Sandcat has been officially designated ‘M552’ by the governing body in the Halo world – the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). The M552 name fits in with Ford’s official ‘P552’ code for the current F-150.
The one-off Sandcat is based on a 2015 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 4×4, with the FX4 off-road package, and powered by Ford’s 3.5L V6 Ecoboost. Galpin Auto Sports, wildly popular and known for building extremely desirable Fords (amongst others) have added an impressive list of modifications to transform the F-150 into the Sandcat – making it definitely Master Chief approved.
Galpin chose to go with the Addictive Desert Designs Baja XTR off-road conversion kit. The kit includes custom Fox Racing shocks, Deaver leaf springs, a Currie full floater rear axle, ADD fenders, side steps, upgraded brake lines, ADD lower control arms, ADD spindle, ADD front axle, ADD front and rear bumper, a chase rack and 17-inch wheels with off-road tires ensure the Sandcat is ready to take on the valleys, dunes and mountains in the Halo universe. The Sandcat is also treated to a custom Halo body wrap with a fitting UNSC logo on the door.
Of course, there’s also an Xbox One custom gaming system with displays mounted in the rear head restraints to top it off.
The Sandcat will also be making appearances at various other events leading up to the official launch of Halo 5: Guardians on October 5th.
