Dodge Power Wagon Is Worth So Much It'll Make Luxury Car Owners Question Their Choice

The Power Wagon breed was born over at Dodge shortly after the end of the Second World War, at a time when both the military and civilians needed monstrous machines to help them rebuild the world.

Technically speaking, the Power Wagon was the civilian derivative of the wartime WC series, a breed of trucks that served the needs of the American army during the war's darkest hours. Built to be just as rugged and tough as the soldiers' trucks, they were impressive enough to be kept in production until 1980.

Despite the fact that no new Power Wagons were made since (not including, of course, the present-day Ram), people have not forgotten the workhorse. In fact, some of these people are even willing to pay more than what others pay for a modern-day luxury car.

Sitting before you is a truck that's listed on the Mecum website as a 1944 Power Wagon. It sits there, waiting to sell during the Glendale, Arizona auction scheduled to take place at the end of next week. It will do so with no reserve, but it comes with expectations so high it would make luxury car owners either scratch their heads in disbelief or cry in envy.

The truck's body has not been modified in any way, but it was gifted with a new paint job in deep black that probably makes it indistinguishable from night itself. The only things that are not black on this thing are the windows all around, heavy steel grille at the front, and the wood bed floor at the back.

Despite its old-school appearance, enhanced by the use of beadlock wheels and rugged threaded tires, the exterior of the truck does hide a few enhancements, made in an effort to make the build more in tone with modern times. Part of the light system, for instance, is LED-based, and there are diamond-tread running boards on the sides.

The interior is just as dark as the exterior, despite the presence in the cabin of a diamond-stitched leather seat stretching from door to door. The various chrome elements, the billet switches, and the center fold-down armrest try to brighten the interior as well, without much success.

The dashboard of the Power Wagon was at the receiving end of a major makeover, as it needed to hold the controls for the air conditioning, the custom switches I mentioned above, and the custom instruments, which include a digital speedometer. In front of it all sits a Nardi Torino large-diameter steering wheel.

Hidden so well that if you blink, you'll miss it is a high-end Kenwood audio system that throws both Bluetooth and Sirius XM capabilities into the fight.

Even in the world of custom Power Wagons, the changes made to this one, despite subtle, are the stuff of dreams. And so are the mechanical upgrades which, although not extensive in themselves, are more than enough to send to value of the truck through the roof.

The raised body of the truck still manages to successfully hide the use of Dana 60 front and rear axles and an Atlas transfer case, Warn locking front hubs, and updated power steering and braking systems. The engine, an aftermarket choice as well, is equally as invisible under the hood of the Power Wagon.

Lift the thing and you’ll be treated to the sight of a beautiful, orange and white engine that despite being shaped to look old and unassuming (not in small part thanks to valve covers, the single-plane intake manifold, and the OEM-style air cleaner), it is actually a powerful LS3 that displaces 6.2 liters.

The engine's output levels are rated at 480 horsepower, a troop that's controlled by means of a 4L85-E electronic push button automatic transmission. The hardware hasn't been put to the test all that much, as the truck's odometer reads just 336 miles (541 km) of travel since the build was completed.

I kept mentioning just how expensive this Power Wagon could be, so now it's time to reveal that little detail as well. As said, the truck is going under the hammer with no reserve, meaning people could get it for as much as they're willing to pay, no questions asked.

Yet, the current owner of the truck hopes the Power Wagon will make quite the splash, with the least they hope to get for it being $200,000. Then again, if the stars align and the right crowd is in the house, hopes are it could go foras much as $250,000. We'll have to wait and see, the, how the hammer falls on this one.