the worlds most powerful road cars

In the words of Kahn Design, the Chelsea Wide Track Defender is more for elite cultural events and tree lined boulevards than vertical mountainsides and searing desertscapes. So that s its territory defined. Those are 20 inch Mondial rims, finished in piano black with a diamond cut finish. And yes, those are integral spotlights in the Kahn bumper. The front end has also been treated to an X Lander grille and headlamp surround. We have to say it, we think Kahn has done a good job with the Defender.

We love the Fiat Panda 4x4, but even we have to admit that it fades into the shadows compared to the totally bonkers Panda Monster Truck. And what a shadow this thing creates. It s a one off prototype, built to promote the launch of the third generation Panda 4x4. It used a Jeep platform and 1.5m diameter road tractor wheels. Oh, and as you may have seen, those tyres aren t standard Panda size. And look, we ve resisted the urge to offer a andGiant Panda gag

Volkswagen was the official vehicle partner of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but none of its winter vehicles are as appealing as this: the Volkswagen Amarok Polar Expedition. The heavily upgraded Amaroks were built to embark on a gruelling 10,000 mile trek from Moscow to the Kamchatka peninsula, and in doing so, earned the expedition team a Guinness World Record. Amazingly, the 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine was left untouched.

In truth, we could have featured any number of the Bowler vehicles unleashed over the years, but we ve selected the EXR Nemesis for this particular feature. Not least because it was the first time Bowler produced a road legal car (not this one). Designed for the Dakar Rally, you can only imagine its potential as a road car. The 0 62mph sprint comes up in just 4.2 seconds off road

Video game tie ups are now common place in the automotive world. We immediately think back to the Tomb Raider Land Rover Defender, and the host of cars to feature in the Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport series of games. But back in 2011, Jeep teamed up with the Call of Duty video game to put a Wrangler in the Black Ops edition of the highly popular franchise. It featured grey alloy wheels, 32 inch off road tyres, Mopar cosmetic upgrades, a blacked out exterior and of course a Call of Duty: Black Ops logo.

Another six wheeled monster pick up here, the Toyota Hilux 6x6 conquered a 5,900 mile marathon journey across the Antarctic to the south pole. With temperatures as low as 50C, the six wheeled Hilux s 800 litre tank had to be filled with Jet A 1 aeroplane fuel so it didn t freeze.

Could this be the ultimate luxury armoured vehicle? It s powered by a 400hp engine, but before you get too carried away, it has to haul a massive five and a half tonnes of Knight XV around with it. That s like a snail being forced to carry a garden shed on its back. A pretty opulent garden shed, though. The floor is bombproof, the windows are bulletproof and the thing is over six metres in length. Hummer H3, eat your heart out.

Proving that the Porsche Cayenne is capable of doing more than just looking good on the King s Road, Porsche built a toughened version of its previous large gen luxury SUV for the gruelling Transsyberia Rally between Moscow and Mongolia. A total of 26 Cayennes were entered, with each one receiving a number of off road upgrades. A less extreme version was offered to the public in 2009.

How do you celebrate the 60th birthday of one of the world s most iconic off road vehicles? Well naturally you roll out a special edition based on the poison dart frog. No, really. Pretty, it is not. But underneath that dramatic skins likes the beating heart of a Unimog U500. And yes, those coil springs have been painted bright red. We ll never look at a poison dart frog the same way again.

And for similar reasons, we had to include the Land Rover Defender. Whatever its age and whatever the spec, the Defender has a never say die attitude that you can t ignore. This is the Defender Challenge car, which is essentially a modified Defender 90 Hard Top. Bowler Motorsport has uprated the 2.2 litre diesel engine to provide 170hp and 331lb ft of torque. There s also the small matter of a roll cage, Bowler suspension package, racing seats, six point harnesses and 18 inch wheels.