Defence Magazine

As the name suggests, ARMYGEDDON is ground shaking and awe inspiring and is in fact Army’s very own street machine. The Army street machine is designed as a purpose-built ‘burn out’ vehicle to conduct demonstrations at high-performance motorsport events around Australia. The purpose of the demonstrations is to raise the profile of the Army and Army technical trades with a view to increased recruiting.

A street machine can be anything from a passenger car with alloy wheels to a highly modified motor vehicle of any type. ARMYGEDDON falls in the extreme modification category and was built from an in-service Land Rover 6x6. To keep the concept a little different from most vehicles, the project team decided to build the street machine as a six-wheel drive with a view to doing six-wheel burnout demonstrations. In keeping with the street machine concept, the cab was stripped, modified and repainted, and all components have been finished in show-car specifications.

While all of this may not mean much to the average person, be assured that it means that ARMYGEDDON will be shaking the ground wherever it goes! At 670kW it has double the power and triple the torque of your top-of-the-line Holden or Ford high-performance vehicle.

Managed by Army Headquarters, the project has been a joint venture between Army and Starr Performance, a company that specialises in after-market modifications to vehicles. Starr Performance provides Army with the specialised high-performance knowledge and equipment required to make the street machine unique. Trade trainees from the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (ASEME), a school within the Army Logistic Training Centre (ALTC), have been integral in the construction of the vehicle. The vehicle mechanics from ASEME have had considerable involvement in the assembly; fitter-and-turners built the bumpers and other associated metalwork; and carpenters built the walnut tray. Selected staff and trainees from all parts of the ALTC form the display team at demonstrations.

ARMYGEDDON’S first public demonstration was at the Summernats car festival in Canberra in January this year. Since then it has appeared at Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne. Later this year ARMYGEDDON will be at the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race and the Indy 300 on the Gold Coast. If you attend one of these events, be sure to look for the Army Street Machine display and feel free to have a chat with the team, they will be only too happy to tell you all about their favourite project.

ARMYGEDDON Team Army Vehicle Specifications

Vehicle

Land Rover 6x6

Custom-modified chassis by Starr Performance

Engine

7 L, C5R V8 block

LS6 Heads

Large Stainless Valves Port and Polished

Custom Blower CAM

Forged Blower Pistons

Custom Crank

Water-to-air intercooler

Supercharger—Custom Wipple Industries positive displacement intercooled twin-screw 3.3 L Starr

Starr Performance signature system

Transmission

Two-speed Powerglide with hardened input and output shafts, planetary gears and case

Torque Converter—3500 high stall

Transfer Case—custom-manufactured twin transfer case to provide three output drives

Drivetrain

Drive Shafts—custom-built chromemoly shafts with billet 1350 universals to suit

Differential—Nissan Patrol, 10.5-inch Crown Wheel with 37 Spline 40mm axles

Differential lockers—air-operated ARB locker, air-operated solenoids

Brakes

Brakes—4 Pot, billet aluminium, slotted race rotors

Brake line lockers—electronic solenoid-operated

Suspension Wheels and Tyres

Starr Performance design, custom design trailing 3 link with ‘A’ arm and coil oversuspension all round.

Display wheels—24-inch polished billet rims, 315 mm tyres

Special Controls

Control Box—custom-designed and built by Starr Performance to allow complete operator control of burnout options, including engage/disengage transfer case, differential and line lockers with built-in alarms. Allows one through to six-wheel drive.

Defence

Army

ARMYGEDDON: Army’s Street Machine