A writer for the Official Xbox Magazine (above, left) got to take a Warthog for a spin while visiting Peter Jackson's Weta special effects studio in New Zealand. When Jackson was working on the now dead Halo movie, the vehicle was built from scratch as a proof-of-concept for the renowned buggies from the game.

The engine is pulled from a popular Australian SUV, the Nissan Patrol, as are the front and rear differentials, which were then custom-cut and widened to actually fit the behemoth. "The motor's a six-cylinder diesel automatic, full four-wheel drive. Then we stuck a turbo on it," [Warthog engineer Peter] Osborne says with a grin. "I was pushing for a V8, but I got overruled on that one. They said it might be overkill."

Although it's a mostly faithful replica,there's one area where the actual Warthog is nothing like the virtual Warthog.

In-game, the vehicle bounces along on independent shocks for each wheel, but pulling that off would have taken a little longer than Weta had allotted. "The compromise was to use a regular axle, and then when they put it on film, they edited out the difference digitally in post-production," Osborne comments.

Which is too bad, since the Warthog's signature suspension is crucial. A Warthog that doesn't bounce in that distinctive Warthog way simply isn't a Warthog. That's like casting someone as Superman who can't actually fly!

Also, it turns out that the guy who designed the Warthog for Weta isn't much of a Halo player.

"I played Halo for about 10 minutes and couldn't get past the first level, then had to get the neighbor's 8-year-old out to show me how to do it," Osborne chuckles, clearly a little bashful about the whole admission. "But he got me to the vehicle so I could have a drive around in it, and that was my introduction to Halo."

Read the article and enjoy the pictures here.