If you’re a rock star, it’s pretty much obligatory to amass a collection of exotic cars, or maybe even a private jet. Metallica frontman James Hetfield went for something a little more practical. In need of equipment to maintain his California ranch, Hetfield commissioned a one-off Case TV450B skid-steer track loader adorned with Metallica motifs. Case then built a few replicas based on the original “Hetskid.” Now you can not only party like a rock star, you can sling sod like one too.
Having a piece of property large enough to need heavy equipment to maintain isn’t very rock ‘n’ roll, but that doesn’t mean Hetfield was going to settle for ordinary Case yellow. The mostly gray machine features camouflage graphics inspired by Hetfield’s Snakebyte guitar, combined with pin striping that references his hot rod collection. Hetfield’s winged skull tattoo is also prominently featured. Who needs high-visibility paint when you look this cool?
The original machine was unveiled in 2024 and then went to work on Hetfield’s ranch. Case produced 25 Hetfield Limited Edition replicas for truly obsessed Metallica fans, and the first of that series is now being auctioned off. In addition to the cool graphics, the TV450B has a 90-horsepower, 3.4-liter four-cylinder diesel engine and a 75-cubic-yard-capacity bucket. Two tickets to see Metallica at the Sphere in Las Vegas are also included with the sale, which benefits the band’s charity All Within My Hands. Appropriately, some of the causes it supports include workforce and trades education.
Hetfied has also commissioned some amazing hot rods over the years, including “Black Pearl,” which started out as a 1948 Jaguar, and “Aquarius,” a voluptuous sculpture loosely based on a 1934 Packard. Plenty of other artists have garages overflowing with customs, invite-only supercars, and other unobtainium, though, and most of those collections likely never turn a wheel, let alone do useful work. Hetfield gets points for creativity there, although I’m sure Rod Stewart could learn to operate a piece of construction equipment if he were so inclined.
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