When you’re scrolling through Instagram and see your favorite rapper or comedian flexing their latest whip, you’re not looking at some boring daily driver. These are viral, multi-million-dollar sculptures built for maximum engagement and maximum controversy.
Take Tracy Morgan, for instance. A few years ago, the guy famously got into an accident in a $2 million Bugatti Veyron—a vehicle already pushing the boundaries of what’s considered “normal” on the road. Now? He’s often seen cruising in the sleek, plug-in hybrid Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
Morgan went from zero emissions to hypercar emissions to a partially electric hypercar. But when a guy like that modifies a machine that already starts as a track-focused weapon, how far can he really go before the DMV shuts him down?
Then you have the other side of the celebrity garage: the apocalypse-ready monsters. We’re talking about vehicles that look like they crawled straight out of the next Mad Max movie.
The poster child for this segment is guys like Travis Scott, who have shelled out ridiculous amounts of cash for custom, heavily modified, post-apocalyptic trucks. Scott’s famed “Omega Rex” is one such machine, reportedly towering at 94 inches tall and boasting insane weight and tire specs.
You look at a beast like that and one question immediately pops into the mind of every gearhead and state trooper: Is that thing actually road-ready?
The short answer, as anyone who has wrestled with a DMV clerk knows, is: It depends entirely on the zip code, the mood of the cop who pulls you over, and whether you’ve done your homework.
The Land of Lifts and Lines
This isn’t about slapping on a neon underglow kit or rolling up with too much window tint. These celebrity machines often involve fundamental, expensive changes to the structure of the vehicle—specifically, the suspension, frame height, and body geometry. And that’s where the state rules start throwing massive wrenches in the works.
The core reason these rules exist is safety. States need to regulate the maximum permissible suspension, body lift, and frame height to ensure a vehicle doesn’t flip when it turns or blinds oncoming traffic with its headlights, and that its bumpers align roughly with other vehicles on the road.
Consider the extremes:
- California: Known for its strict emissions rules (CARB), California is equally restrictive on physical mods. If you live in the Golden State, you can generally cap your total frame and body lifts at a combined five inches. This is why many high-profile Californians who must have extreme builds end up registering them out of state.
- Alabama: At the other end of the spectrum, states like Alabama have virtually no rules limiting suspension lifts or frame height. If you want to turn your Jeep into a two-story apartment on wheels, Alabama might not stop you (though physics probably will).
- Connecticut: Most states fall somewhere in the middle, but often lean toward restriction. Connecticut, for example, imposes a specific, strict maximum of four inches for suspension lift kits.
- Montana: Then you have the real strategic choice. Montana is famous among enthusiasts because it often allows vehicles to be registered without the kind of mandatory state inspections and excessive paperwork found elsewhere. For those seeking the easiest path to legitimize a highly custom, high-value build, Montana’s structure is often the best choice for vehicle registration and tax savings.
Imagine dropping $160,000 on an Apocalypse Omega Rex—a vehicle built for total disregard of paved roads—only to find that its massive 40-inch tires and sky-high profile make it instantly non-compliant the moment you cross state lines.
That monster truck, perfectly titled in one state, is instantly subject to seizure, hefty fines, or impoundment in another.
The Problem of Notoriety
For the average Joe with a mildly lifted truck, an out-of-spec mod might get overlooked by a patrol officer. For a superstar driving a car that costs more than the police precinct, scrutiny is guaranteed.
Their high visibility and notoriety—the very thing that makes these vehicles a good PR stunt—also make them prime, inescapable targets for enforcement. Every officer knows that pulling over a celebrity means media attention, and for traffic enforcement agencies, a highly modified viral car is low-hanging fruit when they are looking for compliance revenue.
Even if the vehicle was certified by the builder as being compliant in, say, Florida, traveling to a place like New York or California means the rules of that new jurisdiction take precedence. And good luck arguing the nuances of frame height limits with a tired cop on the side of the 405 freeway.
This compliance conflict makes owning and operating these custom rides a constant, high-stakes headache.
So, how do the rich and famous (or just highly dedicated enthusiasts) navigate this mess? They don’t try to change the state rules, which is impossible. They change the jurisdiction of the vehicle itself.
The Ultimate Mod: A Bulletproof Title
This is where the real knowledge comes in. The only way to guarantee that an extreme build is road-ready—be it a military surplus truck, a highly lifted rock crawler, or a custom exotic like Tracy Morgan’s potential hyper-modified Ferrari—is to find a jurisdiction that is friendly to the build you want, and register the vehicle there.
This strategy often involves expert consultation to navigate the conflicting regulations, ensuring that the vehicle is strategically titled in a state with more lenient modification rules, or better yet, a state that simply trusts the owner to comply without requiring invasive inspections for every single component.
Understanding these complex federal regulations and state-by-state variations is critical. SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) has spent years fighting for the rights of modifiers and compiling resources on these rules, proving just how complex this system is. It’s a national headache.
The simple fact is that if you are driving a rare or heavily modified vehicle, you need to ensure your paperwork is as bulletproof as the custom armor plate Travis Scott might install on his truck.
The Dirt Legal Difference: Turning the Monster Road-Ready
You shouldn’t have to give up your dream build or spend days refreshing a DMV appointment page just because you want to register a custom, off-road, or otherwise “difficult” vehicle.
While Tracy Morgan might have a team to figure out his Ferrari’s multi-state compliance, you have us. We specialize in handling the paperwork monster for the everyday gearhead and enthusiast. We take the state-to-state headache and turn it into a simple, single process.
Whether you’re dealing with an old salvage title, a UTV, an imported exotic, or a lifted truck that exceeds your state’s limits, we help you get a custom title and registration in the modification-friendly Montana.
This strategic process, utilizing a Montana LLC for efficiency and tax benefits, allows you to enjoy your custom rides wherever you go, compliantly and hassle-free.
Stop stressing about state inspection caps and DMV drama.
