It’s universally understood among people who know off-roading that the biggest adventures don’t normally include the most extreme terrain. In fact, it could be argued that the most extreme off-road challenges don’t even need a winch – they need imagination, ground reading skills and a whole lot of bottle.

So it is that earlier this year, a 1974 Mini became the highest vehicle on the planet. Driven by Ben Coombs and supported by a 1990 Range Rover, the vehicle scaled the Ojos del Salado mountain in the Andes – site of many previous attempts on the motorised altitude record.

Since 2023, this has stood at 6721 metres. The current record, achieved by three-times Le Mans winner Romain Dumas
in a heavily modified Porsche 911, was set with the backing of a large team supported by an array of blue-chip sponsors – not to mention the support of Porsche itself. But amid the various big manufacturers with their corporate money and global PR operations, in 2007 a couple of local lads called Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales braved hostile weather and an engine fi re before finally making it to 6688 metres in their Suzuki Samurai.

This was very much the spirit of Ben’s attempt on the mountain, which is a huge stratovolcano straddling the border between Chile and Argentina.

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There’s something of a heritage theme to the seven-strong collection of concept Jeeps the company created for this year’s Easter Safari at Moab. The annual event, which brings Jeep owners and enthusiasts flocking to eastern Utah from
around America and beyond, has for many years been highlighted by the now traditional display of modified, restified and accessorised vehicle – and after a quiet year in 2024, when it only brought four vehicles, the original 4×4 maker came back firing on all cylinders for the latest running of the event.

In the company’s own words, the seven vehicles ‘pay homage to the Jeep brand’s roots while defining the future of offroading.’ They do this by showcasing the huge range of accessories available through Mopar’s Jeep Performance Parts range – ‘accessories’ in this case including items like suspension systems, body armour and heavy-duty axles, not just the stickers and floor mats we’re used to the word describing here in Britain.

Moab is globally famous for the slickrock trails in the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, whose red rock mountains rise to dominate the view in all directions from the town. It attracts walkers and mountain bikers as well as four-wheelers – and whereas in Britain this would be enough for all motor vehicles to be summarily banned, Moab is also the gold standard in managing multi-use land access.

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Land Rover has announced the Defender Awards – a new initiative which will see a £100,000 bursary, a Defender vehicle and expert mentorship donated to a chosen small conservation or humanitarian organisation in each of seven countries around the world – the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan and South Africa.

The chosen charities will be those which can make good use of their Defender’s ability to ‘support vital, frontline work in hard-to-reach locations.’ Entries are currently being invited from programmes whose work falls into one of
four categories:

• Defenders of the Wild: For projects committed to helping protect endangered and at-risk species, whatever their size.
The mission is to help protect indigenous species of all kinds.

• Defenders of Humanity: For projects which support people and communities in their time of need. The mission is to
help vulnerable communities thrive – and to help them prepare for, respond to and recover from crises, whenever and
wherever they strike.

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You know what you are getting with Khan Design. The latest creation from the Bradford styling house, which is now available through its Chelsea Truck Company operation, is a ‘bold fusion of heritage and innovation’ named the Defender 90 Concept 001.

This is a one-off prototype designed to act as a showcase for the company’s designs. Kahn describes it as ‘a visionary reinterpretation of the legendary Defender, blending British tradition with avant-garde styling and technical mastery.’ It previews various accessories which the company will offer for sale in the future.These include Kahn’s newly announced 20” Hammerhead RSForged wheels, around which is a set of 33×12.50R20 Yokohama Geolandar X-AT all-terrains. Flared wheelarches keep them covered, giving the vehicle a wide-boy stance that’s somewhat reminiscent of Suzuki Vitaras in the early 1990s.

Further features include carbon fibre rear diffuser spats, facelifted headlamps and a Kahn branded rigid spare wheel cover. The grille surround, arches and lower body are finished in 3D-textured protective paint, ‘combining resilience with a rugged yet refined finish’ – we don’t know if this is actual Raptor, but that’s the word everyone uses for this kind of paint and the rough-textured look and feel of it will be instantly recognisable.

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The KGM’s Rexton won our 4×4 of the Year title back when it was first launched in Britain, and went on to take the Best Value award every subsequent year until its stablemate, the new KGM Torres, finally upstaged it. But the Korean company (still known to many people as ‘KGM… used to be SsangYong’) is keeping the fire lit under its biggest SUV with a new model – the Rexton Commercial.

This is, quite simply, a Rexton converted into a two-seat van. It keeps all the equipment that makes the passenger carrying version such good value, aside obviously from the second and third rows of seats – which are replaced with a secure load area offering more than 2200 litres of cargo space.

This has a carpeted floor, with an optional rubber mat available as an accessory. The rear windows are opaque and reinforced for security, and there’s an ISO 27956:2009 full-height fixed mesh bulkhead behind the seats to keep the crew separate from their cargo.

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