Special Vehicles
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Homecoming Hero
The Perentie looks like a Land Rover at first glance. But if you’re a Solihull hater, you’ll ignore it at your peril. Because this is a Defender done the way the Australian Army wanted it – and if you’re forever wishing Land Rover would build trucks the way you really...
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Jousting With Giants
Tim Platt’s spaceframe rock racer featured in this magazine as a workshop build series between last August and this March. Now, as it prepares to take on its second competitive season with a new set of revisions to give it more of an edge, we’re bringing the story to a...
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Don't Look Back In Anger
Danny Roderick has never looked back since the time when, as a 13 year old, he built his first modified off-roader. A long list of trucks has come and gone since then, culminating in his new spaceframe rock racer – which wiped the floor with a top-class field at this...
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A Simple Twist of Fate
When the AWDC first announced the XTC series, Rob Butler at Off Road Armoury sold his Samurai to make way for a mid-engined racer. Which worked out very nicely for Jerry Hunt – who’s taken the truck and made it stronger, twistier and better than ever.
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The Off Road Less Travelled
Mark Sealy does things his own way. He doesn’t drive a modified off-roader, for example; he drives a scratch-built one. He’s an engineering genius by trade, which helps. And his hobby? Well, he’s an engineering genius there, too.
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The Edge of Glory
One of the great things about The Edge’s off-road buggies is that you can buy a book of plans and build your own. Perfect… just so long as you remember to do up all the bolts holding on the steering before you take it out for a death or glory...
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All That Glistens
All that glistens is not gold. In this case, it’s mostly aluminium. That’s because Mike Robertson’s challenge buggy is more than just a top example of what you can do with a Whitbread tubular frame – it’s a rolling test bed for AlliSport’s latest and sexiest products
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Nobby's Style
The name Nobby will forever be associated with a toothless man dancing on the pitch at Wembley. We’ve no idea how Jason Morgan got it as a nickname, but when it comes to building a challenge truck he definitely does things in his own style.
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Kit For Purpose
The Jago Geep was designed so people could build an American icon from the remnants of an old Escort. In typical kit car form, it was all about looks, but it wasn’t very fit for purpose if you wanted to use it off-road. Gary Reed, however, had other ideas…
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Cummins and Goings
Tim Platt’s spaceframe challenge special looks kind of like a 1990s’ comp safari buggy. But it’s all about winching – and it’s even got an HGV battery and alternator to make sure that whatever happens, it keeps on truckin’ along.
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Roaring Success
Strong like a lion, agile like a leopard, fast like a cheetah: none of these are reasons why Chris Abel called his new truck the CAT. But paws to look at the way it’s been built and you might end up feline like you’re looking at off-road purrfection…
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Rogues Gallery
Nick Watts has become synonymous with a 4x4 called Rogue Vogue. That’ll be a Range Rover, then, you might think. And you’d be right… though you’d also be very wrong. Welcome to a tale of not one but two unique challenge trucks.
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Raking It In
As the science of off-road racecar building moves ever-further down the road towards smaller, lighter vehicles that look like superminis on steroids, Rakeway Engineering is developing a truck which blends a more old-school approach with the very latest in technology. And the results are already there to be seen…
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Disco Inferno
Barry Wilson’s 300Tdi Discovery was never very fast. But when he wrote it off in an accident while towing, he unwittingly set himself on a path to turning it into a Dakar kit-car – and, in doing so, lighting a fire under its previously sedentary diesel engine.
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Twenty-Something
When you’re twenty years old and just starting out in challenge events, chances are you dream of one day building the ultimate off-roader. But that’s how old Rob Tunnah is – and he’s just finished building a truck that brought this year’s Donington Show to a near-standstill.
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New Kid On The Conversion Block
The Sahara is the latest addition to NCF’s well-established family of off-roaders. With its smart appearance, reasonable price tag and adaptability, it looks like a great option for those of you who are mechanically minded and up for some serious off-roading…
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Israeli Gears
Having originally earned its off-road credentials in the Israel Defence Force, the expanding global popularity of the Tomcar looks sets to spread to the UK when it is launched here next month. Bridging the gap between a quad bike and traditional 4x4, the vehicle may only be two-wheel drive but...
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Ringing The Changes
John Sales’s 100-inch special has undergone a number of transformations in the last decade or so. It might be the same vehicle beneath the surface, but few would doubt the impact of John’s handiwork on this dramatic challenge project.
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The Number 1 Off-Roader
When John Foers first tested his Ibex mark one on an extreme off-road course, he was surprised by its enormous capabilities. Now that the vehicle is employed at Holme Valley 4x4 it is regularly required to make short work of challenging terrain – a job to which it is perfectly suited.
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Beauty and the Beast
When Nigel Baines and Gus Ferguson set out to build a challenge truck from scratch, they created a vehicle that’s turned out to be a bit of a beast off-road. But even if it’s not the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen, it’s a perfect example of how beauty need never...
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A Life of Trials (Ray Edwards' Suzuki trialler)
If you want a job in the Rhino Ray workshop, it’s vital that you’re keen on off-roading. Ray and his staff regularly compete in AWDC trials… so we decided it was time to see what the professionals use for their off-road fun.
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A Life of Trials (Baz Newins' Suzuki special)
If you want a job in the Rhino Ray workshop, it’s vital that you’re keen on off-roading. Ray and his staff regularly compete in AWDC trials… so we decided it was time to see what the professionals use for their off-road fun.
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Born Again
NCF is already famed for its SJ-based Blitz kit car. And now the company has repeated the trick for Suzuki’s other classic 4x4, the Vitara – allowing enthusiasts to rescue terminally rusty examples of a much loved off-road giant-killer.
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Long Term Relationship
Phil Haines thinks his Land Rover special is ideal for most types of off-roading... so much so, in fact, that he ended up buying it back from the person for whom he first built it.
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Where Eagles Dare
George Imrie’s Eagle 4x4 only covers a few hundred miles a year – and its axles are rebuilt every six months. But don’t let that make you think it has an easy life.
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The Goat That Roared
As if the Foers Ibex wasn’t capable enough, Neil Redpath has fitted his with Scorpion Racing’s celebrated Extreme suspension. And twin ARBs. And a 6.2-litre GM diesel. Can’t see that being much use off-road, then…
