Remember the Baja Boot? No, not the Steve McQueen Boot that didn’t win its class at the 1967 Baja 500, but rather the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus Boot that did win its class at the 2019 Baja 500. True, there were only two vehicles in Class 2 in 2019, the Ford Bronco R prototype didn’t finish, and the SCG Boot made it to the line 46 seconds before the time cutoff, but any victory is a victory. The same year SCG won its tilt at Baja, the company announced a four-door, four-seat version with stadium seating. The boutique carmaker’s been busy doing a bunch of other things in the four years since, like running a campaign in the World Endurance Championship’s top-tier class, so the Boot got booted to the back of the development queue. Seems it’s returned to the front of the line — perhaps because SCG decided to leave the WEC — and the company is posting photos of the 4-DR Boot Prototype Chassis 1 on its Facebook page.
When SCG announced the rig, company founder James Glickenhaus said that combined with moving the front seats closer to one another, the raised rear seats provided a better view for the back-seaters and better legroom without stretching the wheelbase. Glickenhaus also wrote that the view was important because even with small rear windows, aft passengers got carsick during Baja pre-running when they could only see the front seatbacks. With only the chromoly tube frame to go on right now, however, we can’t be sure stadium seating is still in the plan. We hope so, because the setup is useful and cool, as was the integrated baby seat in the back row.
The boutique automaker’s site still lists stock spec as V8 power, an automatic transmission, two- and four-wheel drive, 18-inches of suspension travel from Fox three-inch internal bypass shocks, 17-inch Method Wheels on 37-inch BFG T/A KM3 tires, an HVAC system, a backup camera, power windows, and a 30-gallon fuel tank. A review of the two-door Boot indicated that it has a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 with 650 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, a four-speed automatic, 14 inches of ground clearance, a 5,500-pound curb weight, and the ability to hit an indicated 120 mph. In 2021, that kind of fun cost $250,000. Inflation and two more doors will pump that number up some.
With SCG building the four-seater chassis in about a month, it probably won’t be long before we see a version with the composite panels attached. And perhaps now that the firm is working on delayed projects again, we’ll see a prototype of that Dakar Buggy in the not-too-distant future, too.
