WEIRD OFF-ROADERS

Looking to make more of a splash than in a mainstream off-roader? Head this way

SHERP

It looks like a toy, but Ukrainian company Sherp’s motto is “Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path!” which gives you some idea of its off-road ability. It’s essentially a UTV on steroids, but can carry around a tonne, or up to six people, depending on configuration.

MIL SPEC H1

Bespoke and massively upgraded Hummer H1-esque, the M1-R by Mil Spec is the second generation of product, featuring 500–800bhp from a 6.6-litre Duramax diesel and some serious off-road ability. Some of the interior quilting is suspect, the quality of the engineering is not.

SHAMAN 8X8

A TG favourite, the Russian Avtoros Shaman is priced from £140k without options, but what price unstoppability? Yes, it’s amphibious, yes, it’s proper 8x8, yes, it’s only got a 3.0-litre Iveco diesel, but that’s all it needs. There’s even an online configurator to make it your own.

ATON IMPULSE

Another Russian masterpiece, this time powered by a modest 82bhp 2.2-litre four-pot, but featuring amphibious capability and seven seats. It’s really built for crossing swampy marshland or mixed terrain – including rivers and lakes – but is road legal and used by rescue services.

RIPSAW

OK, so it’s a civilian tank, really. Or ‘tracked vehicle’, more accurately. It’s also road legal (those tracks are rubber), can do 55mph and turn in just 2.4m – its own length – which means a zero-point turn radius. The Ripsaw seats four and comes with a big diesel V8 in 375– 500bhp flavours...

MULTIDRIVE LC

Multidrive Technologies from Australia specialises in utilities vehicles for a variety of specialists. But we want a dual-cab J70 Toyota Land Cruiser with a 4.5-litre V8, 6x6 and a simple backbody. You’d never get stuck, and because it’s a J70 Toyota, the Earth will end before it breaks down.

MERC AMG 6X6

According to Merc “It is the most effortlessly superior and extravagant off-roader ever to be developed and built by engineers”. Six driven wheels, five diffs, portal axles and a central tyre inflation system – this is one mega off-roader that’s more likely found in Kensington. Sigh.

VIKING BvS10

The BvS10 is a pair of tracked vehicles linked by a forward steering mechanism, so it’s pretty much the off-road daddy. Designed and developed in Sweden by BAE Systems Hägglunds, it’s amphibious, can carry up to 8,000kg or 14 people, and it’s capable of 24/7 operation.