JEEP WRANGLER

I like my history. The latest Merc G-Class tips its feathered hat to the Geländewagen military vehicle first sold to the public in 1979. The Bronco pays homage to a rudimentary American truck founded in the mid-Sixties. And the Defender is the spiritual successor to an icon which can trace its empire-rambling ancestry back to a drawing in the sands of Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey, in 1947.

But none of them would exist at all if not for the Jeep. The car that won the war. Since 1941, synonymous with getting you places where failure is not an option. So it’s interesting that the Wrangler – which most closely follows in the tyre tracks of the Nazi-conquering Willys – is the silliest car here, by ooh, a good three litres.

This version has been around since 2017, still an old-fashioned body-on-frame, solid axles truck. In the UK, you can buy a Wrangler that looks pretty much the same as this – in full fat ‘Rubicon’ trail-ready spec, powered by a sensible 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol. Jeep says it’ll crack 20mpg, if you’re careful. You get an 8spd auto with low-range, front, centre and rear locking diffs and hill descent control. For this, you’ll part with £55,000.

In the USA, $75,000 buys you what we present to you here: the Rubicon 392. All the tech, all the toys, but instead of a paltry 272bhp, this true off-road datum point is fitted with a 6.4-litre, 470bhp V8, with 470 lb ft of torque and good for 0–60 in

4.5 seconds. Over anything.

It’s a different approach to off-roading. Instead of tiptoeing over every crag and through each puddle gently, what happens when you lob Porsche 911 GTS-crushing power at the situation? This import is also here courtesy of our friend Clive, who’s got it up for sale for £110,000. America, truck yeah.