Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots from the Transformers franchise, is a robot that morphs into a Kenworth K100 cab over a truck in Generation I.
As a pop culture icon, Optimus Prime has always been associated with trucks as a symbol of leadership. Being a massive vehicle, it espouses the physical strength and durability of his character. As a truck, it serves as a metaphor to how he carries his team and the human race as a part of his load.
Children and an Obsession over a Selection of Trucks
Optimus Prime has been transforming into different machines and forms throughout the several incarnations of the franchise. His alternate modes, save for the gorilla in Beast Wars, include the following:
- Freightliner Cab-over-engine Class 8 truck
- Cybertronian truck
- COBRA Sentry & Missile System tank
- 1920 style truck
- Peterbilt truck
- Mid-90s Peterbilt 4964EX Tanker Truck
- Lamborghini Diablo
- Dump truck
- Dodge Ram SRT-10
- Nissan GT-R
Children have learned how to admire cars and trucks through cartoons and movies like Transformers. When they admire a hero like Optimus Prime, they, too, learn how to look up to a truck in the same light. As they age, they keep with them these memories and the idea of a truck as an object to want.
In Australia, there are trucks for hire such as Southern Cross Truck Rentals that can fulfil these childhood dreams. They may not be as flashy as Optimus Prime’s vehicular modes, but as equipment vehicles that serve to transport and deliver heavy loads, they have the same purpose.
The Closest Thing to the Real Optimus Prime
If the desire to have your own Optimus Prime truck is so strong, there have been recreations that went up through auctions. The Transformers live-action saga version of Optimus Prime as a Peterbilt tractor truck garnered a $110,000 price tag.
A modified 1992 Peterbilt 379, this Optimus Prime is a functional vehicle, despite serving as a prop for the three movies by Michael Bay. With 14.6-liter and six turbo diesel engine, this machine is sure to be the closest thing any fan could have to the real Optimus Prime.