Fury Road & My Wild Ride: Ballistic

Back in 2010, I got a call out of the blue from the producers of Mad Max: Fury Road. They weren’t chasing me personally—they were after a machine I happened to own. A strange, feral, one-off off-road buggy known as Ballistic.

This thing wasn’t your average backyard build. Ballistic was a turbo-charged, feather-light tandem racer with insane long-travel suspension and a setup that looked like it had escaped from the future. Each corner ran dual motorcycle wheels, giving it ridiculous grip and a stance unlike anything else. I’d been having a blast launching it over channel banks and hills, treating it like my own personal stunt toy. 

The Fury Road team wanted it. They offered me a deal—good money—but with one catch: the car would be gone for at least a year, maybe two. I agreed, waved it off, and got on with life. One year turned into three. Honestly, I’d forgotten about it until one day a truck rolled up at the farm, dropping Ballistic back to me covered in dust, worn, and looking like it had survived its own apocalypse.

By then I’d moved on. I was deep into forest rallying in a worked Subaru WRX STI, chasing rally stages instead of paddock jumps. So I sold Ballistic and let it disappear into someone else’s hands. To this day, I’ve got no idea where it ended up.

As for the movie? Fury Road did use it—but you’d hardly know. They disguised Ballistic under a Holden body shell, hiding all its wild lines and character. A strange choice, if you ask me. The raw, one-off look of the original would have fit that world perfectly.

Ballistic’s out there somewhere. A weird chapter in my motoring life, and a small, hidden part of Mad Max history.

Sohn Herbert.