Queensland, Australia: Lobo Lancester was born in Germany and has lived in Africa, South America, Asia and California before settling in Down Under a long time ago. The land developer turns seventy next year and has been in more countries than you and I know. He calls himself the maddest guy in the area. Considering Australia's strict vehicle restrictions and limited modification possibilities, this might well be the case once you see his rides. He has been modifying trucks for over 40 years and has a good array of vehicles to prove it.

Lobo was just preparing for a desert trip with a local magazine when we met up with him so unfortunately we weren't able to get any action shots, but his vehicles are still worth a look. "Vine, vomen and vheels" are his hobbies, he tells us in a heavy German accent.
One of his babies is a little Peugeot sports convertible but other than that he's all 'off-road'. Lobo widened a two-wheel drive Mitsubishi truck and built a phenomenal 6x6 camper with shower, king-size bed, etc. to cruise into the Outback in luxury.
His everyday ride is a heavily modified 2001 Nissan Patrol. "I need to show my real estate clients the remote blocks of land I sell… and I better do that in style!" the former French Legionnaire explains.
The Patrol is powered by a 4.8 liter, twin cam engine that provides 475 horses. That is enough to turn the enormous 39.5 inch Mickey Thompson Baha Claws on 12 inch wide Mickey Thompson bead lock wheels which get clearance due to a ten inch custom lift with dropped front lower control arm brackets. The axles are widened 9 inches and are stuffed with 4.88 gears and ARB lockers front and rear. The coil spring setup is held by stabilizer bars to prevent side-to-side movement. Australian law requires all tires to be completely covered by fenders so Lobo manufactured his flares out of quarter-inch thick rubber and painted them in the vehicle color. They are basically indistructable, he adds. Protection is granted by skid plates and ARB bumpers which have been slightly upgraded to fit the look of the unusual vehicle. Countless Lightforce lights on the bumper and the roofrack illuminate pretty much everything in his path. The roofrack carries two spare tires, a necessity on the gravel roads Down Under. The interior is mostly stock but is equipped with serious comunication systems. Even though rumors have it that Lobo doesn't take the vehicles off-road, he actually uses them exactly for the purpose they were built for. His attention to detail shows in all his modifications which gives the rigs a bit of a show-vehicle appearance - but don't be fooled!

Lobo loves to take the truck into the desert and frequently goes north to Cape York for shorter adventures. On longer trips he brings his off-road trailer which runs on matching 39.5 inch Mickey Thompson tires on Mickey Thompson bead lock wheels. This trailer carries also two spare tires plus a Polaris 6x6. The Polaris is for shorter day trips in the desert and carries one spare tire per running tire. All those tires are upgraded six-plys.

If you think that some of Lobo Lancaster's equipment is over the top, don't blame me - I told you he's the maddest guy in Queensland with an unparalleled, life-long passion for anything vith vheels.