This is a 2011 M1161 Growler ITV-LSV, those initials stand for “Internally Transportable Light Strike Vehicle,” as the Growler was designed to fit inside both the MV-22 Osprey and the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter.
This Growler is being sold as a project vehicle, the seller notes that there is an intermittent electrical issue that causes the batteries to lose charge, most likely a parasitic draw that will require an automotive electrician or someone handy with fuses and a multimeter.
Fast Facts: The M1161 Growler ITV-LSV
- This 2011 M1161 Growler ITV-LSV is a running project vehicle finished in green with serial number ITV20. The current owner bought it in 2019 and has added roughly 500 of the 769 miles on the odometer. It’s being sold out of San Antonio, Texas with a clean title and recent service records.
- Power comes from the original 2.8 liter MWM turbodiesel inline-four fed by dual fuel tanks, paired with a GM 4L70E 4-speed automatic and a dual-range transfer case. The seller notes an intermittent electrical issue causing battery drain, likely a parasitic draw, though the engine runs and video evidence is included in the listing.
- Military-spec features are largely intact, including the four-wheel airbag suspension with dash-controlled ride height, an onboard air compressor with tire pressure management, D-ring tie-downs, and a roll cage – though the rear cage section has been swapped for a custom removable piece with a bikini top. The rear steering was disabled by a previous owner.
- Recent maintenance includes new 235/85 Atlander Roverclaw A/T tires on 16 inch beadlock wheels, a 2025 transmission fluid leak repair with transfer case gasket and U-joint bolt replacement, CV boot replacement in 2020, and right-front brake service. It’s offered at no reserve through Bring a Trailer.
History Speedrun: The M1161 Growler ITV-LSV
Relatively few military vehicles have ever been designed around such a specific series of constraints as the M1161 Growler. It was born from a 1999 U.S. Marine Corps requirement for a tactical 4×4 that could physically fit inside the cargo bay of the MV-22 Osprey, it spent a decade in development and production hell before finally being deployed in the field – only to find that the wars it arrived into weren’t the ones it had been designed to fight.
This is a 2011 M1161 Growler ITV-LSV, those initials stand for “Internally Transportable Light Strike Vehicle,” as the Growler was designed to fit inside both the MV-22 Osprey and the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter.
The Marines needed a light utility, light strike, and fast attack vehicle small enough to roll through the Osprey’s rear ramp, and then function as a capable scout and weapons platform once on the ground – it also needed to fit inside the CH-53E Super Stallion, one of the largest military helicopters in service.
The Growler was planned to replace the mix of aging M151 MUTT Jeep variants and the Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV), essentially a modified Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen 290GTD that the Corps had used since 1999 as a stop gap measure.
Development fell to American Growler Inc., a small North Carolina-based company whose name gave the vehicle its unofficial (and ultimately widely used) moniker. The engineering starting point was American Growler’s commercial UV 100 DB off-road vehicle, and while early prototypes borrowed drivetrain design from the M151, the final production vehicle used entirely new parts and onboard systems.
Two variants were developed in parallel – the M1161 Light Strike Vehicle (LSV), a four-seat scout and fast attack platform, and the M1163 Prime Mover, a shorter two-seat variant designed to tow the M327 120mm rifled mortar as part of the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS).
On November the 10th, 2004, the Marine Corps Systems Command awarded General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract valued at $12,057,159 for the purchase of 66 EFSS vehicles and up to 650 ITVs. GD-OTS had won a competitive bid over two others, and production was transferred to General Dynamics while still keeping the American Growler design largely unchanged.
What followed all of this was a textbook case of defense procurement friction. Full production had been targeted for 2007, but perhaps predictably, delays and cost overruns pushed everything back.
The M1161’s unit price rose by 120%, from roughly $100,000 to $209,000 per scout variant, while the M1163 mortar combination went up 86% to $1,078,000 per unit. Initial production vehicles were finally handed over in late 2007, full-rate production was approved in 2008, and the first Growlers reached Marine units for field testing in January of 2009 – this was a full year behind the original schedule.
Mechanically, the Growler was actually a pretty clever piece of engineering, despite its troubled origin story. Power came from a Navistar Defense 2.8 liter inline four-cylinder turbodiesel producing 132 bhp at 3,600 rpm and 230 lb ft of torque at 2,000 rpm, this was paired with a General Motors 4L70E 4-speed automatic and a Chrysler dual-range transfer case with 2×4 and 4×4 high/low ranges. Twin 12-gallon fuel tanks accepted JP-8, JP-5, commercial diesel, or DF-2, this allowed a realistic range of around 408 miles between fuel stops.
A clever air-ride gas bladder suspension system with dash-controlled ride height adjustment gave the vehicle three height settings, this allowed it to squat down low enough for aircraft loading and then ride back up for off-road ground clearance.
The top speed was 85 mph on pavement and 65 mph cross-country, on a curb weight of roughly 4,537 lbs with a 2,000 lb cross-country payload capacity.
A clever air-ride gas bladder suspension system with dash-controlled ride height adjustment gave the vehicle three height settings, this allowed it to squat down low enough for aircraft loading and then ride back up for off-road ground clearance.
Four-wheel steering with a joystick controller and auto-centering made tight shipboard and aircraft maneuvering a breeze. A collapsible roll-over protection system (one of three patents held by American Growler for the M1161) could be completely removed to meet the V-22’s height restrictions, and it also allowed vehicles to be stacked in ship holds.
Run-flat tire inserts allowed continued movement on a flat, and the front-mounted winch gave a 9,500 lb pull capacity. For armament, a rear weapons ring accepted an M2HB .50 cal heavy machine gun, M240G 7.62mm medium machine gun, or Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.
By August of 2011, 209 M1161s and 102 M1163s had been built and delivered, with 42 additional M1163s on order. Final production totals reached 266 M1161 scout variants and 145 Prime Movers, this was well short of the original plans, largely due to budget pressures.
Ironically, the Growler arrived just as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were pushing the Marine Corps toward heavier, armored vehicles because of the ever present IED threat. An unarmored 4,500 lb vehicle with Kevlar seats as its only ballistic protection was a difficult proposition in that environment.
Rather than reaching the infantry units it had been designed for, the Growler was fielded primarily with reconnaissance, MARSOC, and artillery communities. MARSOC elements took them into combat in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2014, and Marine Expeditionary Units deployed with as many as 20 ITVs on amphibious ships.
The Growler’s reputation in the field was somewhat mixed. A 2012 throttle system fault following an accident at Camp Pendleton grounded the entire fleet for a time – Marines also reported mechanical unreliability and frequent unscheduled maintenance. A 2015 Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory assessment concluded that the ITV was actually ineffective in its intended light strike role but performed well as a logistics vehicle, removing weight from Marines’ backs.
The Growler is powered by a Navistar Defense 2.8 liter inline four-cylinder turbodiesel producing 132 bhp at 3,600 rpm and 230 lb ft of torque at 2,000 rpm, this was paired with a General Motors 4L70E 4-speed automatic and a Chrysler dual-range transfer case with 2×4 and 4×4 high/low ranges.
Its greatest real-world contributions proved to be casualty evacuation and load-carrying – not the fast attack mission it had been built around.
In November of 2016, the Corps ordered 144 four-seat diesel Polaris MRZR-D4s under the Utility Task Vehicle program, replacing the Growler in the light-vehicle role, though not really as a like-for-like substitute.
By February of 2019, surplus Growlers were being sold to the public through GovPlanet auctions, this was the first time these purpose-built military machines became available on the civilian market, where they’ve since developed a small but dedicated following among collectors of military vehicles and serious off-roaders who want something a little more unusual than a Jeep or Bronco.
The M1161 Growler ITV-LSV Shown Here
This 2011 General Dynamics M1161 ITV-LSV is a running project vehicle finished in green (as you might expect), with serial number ITV20. The current owner bought it in 2019 and has since put approximately 500 of the 769 miles shown on the odometer.
It sits on black 16-inch beadlock wheels wearing 235/85 Atlander Roverclaw A/T tires, which were fitted under current ownership. Power comes from the original 2.8 liter MWM turbodiesel inline-four fed by dual fuel tanks, sending output through a General Motors 4L70E 4-speed automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case with rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive.
The seller notes an intermittent electrical issue that causes the batteries to lose charge, though they were topped up in preparation for the sale and videos of the engine running are included in the listing.
The vehicle keeps many of its military-specific features, including a four-wheel airbag suspension with dash-controlled ride height adjustment, an onboard air compressor system with a dashboard tire pressure control panel, D-ring tie-downs, hood-mounted side mirrors, and a roll cage – though the rear section of the cage has been replaced with a custom removable piece fitted with a bikini-style top.
The interior has two forward-facing and two rear-facing seats trimmed in green vinyl, and a keyed ignition has been installed. Instrumentation includes an 85-mph speedometer, a Lev-O-Gage inclinometer, and gauges for oil pressure, coolant temperature, battery voltage, and individual fuel level readings for each tank.
This 2011 General Dynamics M1161 ITV-LSV is a running project vehicle finished in green (as you might expect), with serial number ITV20. The current owner bought it in 2019 and has since put approximately 500 of the 769 miles shown on the odometer.
Maintenance under current ownership has included replacing the tires, servicing the right-front brake, repairing a transmission fluid leak in 2025 (along with replacing the transfer case gasket and U-joint bolts), and replacing the right-front and left-rear CV boots in 2020. The rear steering system was disabled under previous ownership.
It’s now being sold as a project truck out of San Antonio, Texas with recent service records and a clean Texas title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
