A car collector from Houston, Texas, surprised the crew of the popular automotive YouTube channel DailyDrivenExotics by showing off an unusual vehicle from his collection. The man owns a British Daimler Ferret Mk 2 military armored car, which served in reconnaissance units during the Cold War. He is convinced the vehicle is street-legal. To demonstrate, he took the YouTubers on a drive around Houston that ended… at the drive-thru of a Burger King restaurant.
The DailyDrivenExotics crew learned about the collector from a message sent by a viewer who claimed to know a man with “a Batmobile and a tank.”
On arrival, they found that the man’s garage did indeed hold some unusual machines. Among them was a working replica of the Batmobile from the 1989 film “Batman,” more than 6 meters (about 20 feet) long and, according to its owner, producing about 1,000 horsepower. The car is equipped with air conditioning, a large turbocharger and cameras that help the driver see the surroundings, among other features. The collection also includes a Lamborghini Murciélago with a converted manual transmission, a 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback inspired by the John Wick films, and a replica of KITT from the TV series “Knight Rider.”
The Daimler Ferret Mk 2 drew the most interest, however. Despite the popular description, it is not a tank but a four-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle developed in Great Britain in the 1950s. Vehicles of this type were fitted with six-cylinder Rolls-Royce B60 gasoline engines, all-wheel drive and a rotating turret.
The owner says his example served for many years in Germany during the Cold War, weighs nearly 4.5 metric tons and still has its original engine, which underwent a military overhaul in the 1990s. He also insists that the Ferret has license plates that allow it to travel on Texas roads.
The YouTubers decided to test the vehicle’s capabilities in practice. One of them took the driver’s seat, set low inside the armored hull, while the other sat in the turret, which offered a much better view of the surroundings. After driving through the streets of Houston, the crew headed to a Burger King. At the drive-thru, they ordered a Whopper with cheese, a large order of fries and a bottle of water. Only at the pickup window did the staff get a closer look at the unusual vehicle. The people in the video even joked about whether the restaurant offers discounts to customers arriving in military equipment.
The question remains, however, whether such a vehicle can actually be driven legally on public roads. The rules of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) allow special registration for former military vehicles, but it usually limits their use to parades, exhibitions, club meetings and other public events. It does not allow them to be treated as ordinary transportation. Some wheeled military vehicles can obtain standard registration if they meet the relevant requirements. Texas, in turn, does not allow vehicles that move on tracks on public roads. Because the Ferret has four wheels, it is not covered by that particular ban.
Editor: JŁ
