Payload capacity is 1,500 pounds (680 kg). An optional fuel bladder can extend the range to over 1,000 miles (1,600 km). With its standard 21 gallon (79.5 litre) fuel tank, the DPV has a range of about 210 miles (340 km).
This makes the lightweight vehicle capable of accelerating from 0 to 30 mph (0 to 48 km/h) in only four seconds and able to travel at speeds of up to 80 mph (130 km/h). Volkswagen components were also the basis for the postwar dune buggy, and its layout is used in the DPV with rear-mounted air-cooled 200 hp (150 kW) Volkswagen engine. The German Volkswagen Kübelwagen was the first military Light Utility Vehicle based on the Volkswagen Beetle which uses rear-wheel rather than four-wheel drive.
The DPV was built by Chenowth Racing Products, Inc. forces to enter Kuwait City were United States Navy SEALs in DPVs. Due to their dash speed and off-road mobility, the DPVs were used extensively during Operation Desert Storm. The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV), formerly called the Fast Attack Vehicle (FAV), is a high-speed, lightly armored sandrail-like vehicle first used in combat during the Gulf War in 1991.