Truck drivers have a passion and even a culture for personalizing their vehicles: chromed rigs is one way to do so, a dashboard filled with stuffed animals is another.
The Super-Liner truck presented here has a special kind of uniqueness to it, due to the mass of luxurious finishing. It took 12 months to merge together this cocktail of power and elegance that catches the eye of every traffic member, and the solid gold hood ornament certainly helps.
If you're wondering who has the taste and the bank account for such an order?
The Sultan of Johor, from Malaysia, commissioned the Australian division of Mack trucks to manufacture the custom truck. Discretion is high regarding the price of the vehicle, but reports estimate that its cost beats that of the former luxury truck, which was AU$481,000 or $350,000.
Why would someone, even of royal blood, want such a flamboyant truck? It is to stand out from the crowd of boring Macks while towing his boat, of course. Apart from the golden hood ornament in shape of a tiger, the truck is decorated along the wings with a stylized version of the Johor flag. Johor is one of Malaysia's thirteen states.
The inside of the rig has some premium features, designed for a kingly lifestyle. It has a stone-topped kitchen area with integrated barbecue, a six-camera CCTV system, two flat screen TVs and a sleeping chamber with a double bed. As much as 72,000 golden stitches are on the imperial seats.
"This is my dream - am I smiling?" the Sultan said of his "palace truck."
Sultan Ibrahim said he was delighted with the end result, which was revealed in King George Square in Brisbane's CBD.
His Majesty Ibrahim Ismail added that his esteem for Australian engineering led to the purchase of a couple of Holden cars.
"I am looking forward to showing its workmanship to the people of Johor as soon as the Super-Liner is shipped over."
At the end of October, the truck will hit the streets of Malaysia during a charity event. Fans of outrageous expensive custom trucks can still get a look at it on Australian soil until then.
