The real deal is here, and it looks ready to conquer all obstacles.
A year and a half ago, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus dropped a properly bizarre set of teaser renderings for something called the Boot. In short, it was an off-roader modeled after the rather famous Hurst Baja Boot from the late 1960s, piloted by Hollywood motoring legend Steve McQueen. Company guru James Glickenhaus actually owns the original Boot, but we’ve only seen computer renderings of the new model since that teaser first dropped. That is, until now. And boy does it look freaking cool.
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus took to the social halls of Facebook and Twitter recently with a slathering of photos showing the new Boot with its grandfather, both soaking up the sun in real-life glory. The photos didn’t come with new information on this runabout, but in January 2019 we were told five two-door models would be out for this year. All of them were said to be road legal, with one being a road/race model for the Baja 1000. We don’t know if this first build is the racing-tweaked Boot – the Twitter post suggests it might be – but either way, it looks seriously capable.
It sounds race-ready, that’s for sure. According to an SCG press release from March 2019, the engine is a GM-sourced LT4 V8 producing 650 horsepower. In stock trim, it runs a four-wheel independent suspension with a full 19 inches of travel and 37-inch all-terrain tires. With the Baja package (which allows the Boot to race in the Baja 1000), suspension travel increases to 22 inches, among many other things which you can see at the end of the article in the press release link.
SGC says all five of its two-door Boots for this year are already sold out, and the company is slated to compete in this year’s Baja 1000 in November. Once the two-door models are set, a four-door version of the Boot will follow for 2021. With the first Boot now on the street, it looks like the niche automaker is on track to meet its targets.
Source: Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Facebook, Twitter
The Baja 1000
At 1000 miles, the Baja 1000 is the longest continuous off-road race in the world.
In 1967 Vin Hickey purpose built the GM-powered Baja Boot to compete in the inaugural Baja 1000 race, and it was raced by Steve McQueen and Bud Edkins.
We purchased the Boot in 2010 and imagined racing a new version.
In January 2018 we asked our designer Michael Young to imagine a new Baja Boot that was capable of racing the Baja 1000 in stock form, and then driving home. To bring this incredible challenge to life we turned to professional off-road racer and expert Darren Skilton to manage the project and racing program and builder Elliot Pollock and Armada Engineering to execute the build.
We will be racing our new Glickenhaus Boot in the 52nd Annual SCORE Baja 1000 in November 2019. We have:
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Fully-engineered a new Boot to be able pre-run the Baja 1000 in stock form, or race the Baja 1000 with the Baja package;
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The stock Boot, which will be able to pre-run the Baja 1000 will have:
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Four-wheel independent suspension with 19” of travel;
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Fox Coil over 3” internal bypass;
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GM LT4 650HP Engine;
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Wheelbase 116’’, Width 84’’ height 6’7’’ with 40-inch tires;
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Method 17’’ Race Wheels Mounted with 37” BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K02 tires;
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Optional 40’’ tires;
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Brakes: Wilwood Dynapro Calipers w/ 12” Rotors;
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Range: 400-mile highway and 200–300 mile off-road;
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Soft top with optional removable hardtop.
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The Baja package, which will allow the Boot to Race the Baja 1000 includes the following upgrades:
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Width 88’’ with race suspension;
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Suspension: High strength boxed lower control arms;
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Suspension Travel: 22”;
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Dual Shocks: 2.5 Coilover front and rear, 3.5 Bypass front and 4.0 Bypass rear;
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Brakes: Race Grade Wilwood Aero6 Calipers w/ 14” Rotors;
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Method Race Wheels with BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2 37” tires;
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Transmission: Gearworks Turbo 400 w/ Reid Case;
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Additional fuel for range for long distance races;
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Full Race GPS, communication systems, air filters and forced air for helmets using magnetic locking for air and water hoses.
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Began manufacture of our 2019 Boots including hand-welding the first prototype chassis, suspensions, and bulkheads, and officially ordering the GM LT4 engines and transmissions;
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Committed to race the 52nd Annual SCORE Baja 1000 with our Glickenhaus Baja Boot;
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Created an exclusive luxury tour for 14 guests to luxury tour the 2019 Baja 1000, pre-run a section of the course, and to watch the course with our team, including via a helicopter race tour;
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Created for Founders a 2-day off-road driving school taught by experienced Baja 1000 racers on a 40-mile private off-road course in Ensenada.
After selling out of our 2019 Founders 2-door Boots in 2020 we will be releasing a wider footprint four-seat version of the Boot, which will include many creature comforts and performance options to allow clients to custom tailor their options.
Darren Skilton
Darren Skilton, Glickenhaus Boot manager of manufacturing, design expectations and race logistics. Darren brings to the team, 20+ years of professional off-road racing in the US, Baja, Europe and South America. He has raced in the world-famous Dakar rally seven times with two class wins. Also competing in the Baja 500 and 1000 annually for over 20 years culminating in six Baja 1000 class wins. Darren is the co-creator and director of Sonora Rally, a five-day navigation rally held in Sonora, Mexico. His wide range of off-road team management experience, along with his passion for international racing makes him the perfect fit for the development and execution of the SCG Boot program.
Elliot Pollock
Elliot Pollock from Armada Engineering is the engineer behind the Glickenhaus Boot and is manufacturing the race and production versions of the vehicles.
Elliot’s off-road background started on two wheels racing motocross at local tracks near his hometown of Moorpark, CA. His career in off-road racing started at a young age working for several off-road racing teams as a junior designer and fabricator. After experiencing the excitement of off-road racecar development he decided to progress his craft in automotive engineering and technical design. In addition to off-road racing, Elliot has years of success working with the movie industry to design and develop movie cars, as well as developing racecars for Oshkosh Defense and Ford.
In 2010, Elliot decided to live out his dream and start his own brand of off-road racecars by designing and building his first Trophy Truck. Armada Engineering has become a household name in the international off-road racing community by manufacturing some of the most innovative and highly capable off-road racecars in the industry.
“For me the Glickenhaus Boot is an inspirational project. It is an opportunity to pay homage to the legendary designer Vic Hickey with a modern high-performance vehicle based off his vision. My hope is to honor where the sport of off road has come from with something that inspires a new generation of enthusiasts” Darren Skilton, Glickenhaus Boot Project Manager
“This November we are going to drive our Glickenhaus Baja Boot from San Diego to Ensenada, race the Baja 1000, and drive home. What’s not to like?” Jim Glickenhaus, Founder
“We welcome any manufacture that makes an SUV to race our new Boot in the 2019 Baja 1000 in a stock SUV class. The Baja 1000 has a stock VW Bug class, a stock truck class, and soon, a stock SUV class.” Jesse Glickenhaus, Managing Director
“I didn’t even know who’d won the race. Maybe nobody.” Hunter S. Thompson