4x4 Magazine - September 2022

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BRITAIN’S BEST ALL-MARQUES 4X4 MAGAZINE FOR 40 YEARS! PLUS Subaru XV earns its spurs where other crossovers fear to tread

THE UK’S ONLY 4X4 AND PICK-UP MAGAZINE

ALL-NEW AMAROK

PLUS 20 years on – memories of the first ever Total Off Road

How Volkswagen is taking the off-road route back to the premium end of the pick-up market

How a legendary race truck was born again Pioneering modified Grand Vitara

Getting to grips with a new kind of Cherokee

Ex-military G-Wagen restored into a rolling work of art

£4.99

Wading aplenty in our Shropshire roadbook

SEPT 2022

Britain brings it home from the legendary Rhino Charge 4x4 Cover Sep 22 AK.indd 1

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The World’s best accessories for Land Rover Discovery

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September 2022

CONTENTS

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‘In the south-west of Shropshire, a variety of tight, with soaring hilltop trails whose views seem to go

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52 BIG SAVINGS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE! A copy of 4x4 normally costs £4.99 to buy at the shops. So why not pay just £8.00 to have FIVE issues delivered to your door instead? Mad not to!

4x4 Scene: News, Products and More…

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VW Amarok Full details revealed of the all-new premium pick-up Bowler Extreme model is a near-OE take on the original Spectre 110 John Brown 4x4 Electric conversion unveiled for Series Land Rovers Hot Wheels Could your 4x4 be immortalised as a die-cast classic?

White Stones Local authority to repair damage done in anti-4x4 rampage Kirklees Mystery surrounds trio of lane closures Essex County council agrees to repair lanes after legal tussle Rhino Charge Brits bring home class title in legendary African event Online Gearbox Parts Nissan Leaf adaptor for DIY electric 4x4 conversions ARB Flinders roof tent designed for easy set-up and break-down Clarke Flexible and mobile tool storage for your workshop Dirt Monkey Budget 2”lift for Discovery 3 and 4 LOF Cutches Solid mass flywheel kit for D40 Navara Osram Amber beacons suitable for every kind of working 4x4 Truckman Pick-up specialist launches ARB’s premium Ascent hard-top

Driven 28 30

Subaru XV Reigning Small SUV of the Year proves its mettle off-road Peugeot or Citroen Related SUVs go head to head – with surprising results

Every Month 4 52 62 80

Alan Kidd Without Total Off Road magazine, 4x4 would not still exist Subscribe Get five issues of 4x4 for just eight quid Roadbook A beast of a route in Staffordshire, with loads of wading Next Month The day the original G-Wagen met one of its most vocal fans

Features 36 40 46 50 54

Restified G-Wagen Former army truck becomes an heirloom off-road Classic Comp 90 One of the best known racers from the Hillrally’s heyday Modded Grand Vitara Very early lifted Suzuki from the good old days NCF Blitz An answer to rusting SJs that should have sold way more than it did Fouquet Under the skin of a classic off-road race car

Travel 58

tricky lanes combines on forever’

Triangle Vert A hardcore French lane run in a then-new Jeep Cherokee

62 Shropshire Roadbook

Step 40: Turn left off the main embankment track, dropping then plunging down the straight into a water trough (right)

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It’s a steep, sharp climb up and over a bigger track – you can’t see ahead over your bonnet to start with

Caution over a steps as you short set of rocky drop down the hill

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Abbey Strata Florida

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are sharp rock Caution – there as you climb the steps to negotiate hillside

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Look out for you cross the the waymarker as ford

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Join the Cat A

track

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You may find yourself driving a river bed along for a while…

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track Drop off the main the gate and immediately before trough water into yet another

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to clear these axleneed a bit of momentum right is much bigger to the Step 37: You might warned, the drop-off twisters – but be than it looks here

4x4

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4x4 Tel: 01283 553243 Email: enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk

Alan Kidd Editor

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For 10 years, we had a ball putting Total Off Road together

orgive me, but I’m going to have to be a little self-indulgent this month. We’ve had quite a few anniversaries this year, but when I read about it being 20 years since the launch of the first Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, I realised that a similar amount of time had passed since something else came to pass in the off-road world that has pretty much defined my career ever since.

The story goes back about five years more than that, to when myself and a colleague dreamt up a couple of ideas for new magazine launches. We already knew better than to take them to our existing publisher (my mate had tried that once before and regretted it), so I got in touch with one of the company’s competitors and we ended up in a clandestine meeting with a couple of their directors.

It all sounds tremendously cloak and dagger, and I suppose in a manner of speaking it was. But we pitched our ideas, they looked uncomfortable because one of them was a magazine they were already working on, and then one of them said the fateful words: ‘To be honest, I was hoping you were going to come up with a really good idea for a new off-road magazine.’

At the time, 4x4 was known as Off Road and 4 Wheel Drive, and it wasn’t doing very well. It had a competitor called International Off Roader that seemed to be doing even worse and there was a strong feeling that this corner of the magazine market was there for the taking. Which, presumably, is what matey was thinking about.

In the car on the way home, our moods were quite muted. The guys hadn’t jumped at any of our ideas (though one of them was later to become a massive success for another publisher, with my mate at the heart of it) and it felt like our escape plot from a company we’d lost all respect for had been foiled.

But that comment kept going round in my head. ‘A really good idea for a new offroad magazine…’

By the time we got home, I had a format all worked out. It would be along the same lines as American magazines like Petersen’s and Four-Wheeler, and it would be called Total Off Road.

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I won’t go into the reasons why it took another half a decade before TOR finally came to light, and I certainly won’t say anything about the reasons why it never really did get to be like Petersen’s and FourWheeler. But for the next ten years, we had an absolute ball putting it together.

Ironically, during that five-year period there were major management changes at my old employer and Off Road and 4 Wheel Drive was relaunched as 4x4, with the sort of resources I could only have dreamt of when I was there. As a result, TOR never did knock it off its perch at the top of the market, but we got ourselves a reputation for championing the cause of everyday realworld off-roaders.

In the process, we covered some pretty mental vehicles and met some pretty mental people. I got to do some pretty mental stuff and though there were a couple of times when I got too close for comfort, I managed to avoid any of the monster stacks my colleagues used to warn me I had coming if I didn’t calm down.

Fast forward to four years ago. TOR was now being published by Assignment Media and 4x4 was still the market leader, when we decided to go for an audacious swoop and buy it. To my amazement, the deal happened and we had control of the entire all-marques off-road market in the UK. Our strategy was to amalgamate the two publications, keeping the best bits of both of them. We would also keep the 4x4 title, because it was the one with more readers.

It worked like a charm, and here I am now telling you this story about how I created Total Off Road and years later, we rolled it into the magazine you’re holding in your hands right now. And this is a poignant issue, too – because September 2002 was the date on the cover of the first ever TOR. We’ve celebrated the milestone this month with a few retro features from that launch issue. Making magazines is a bit more of a serious business these days, and we spend less time messing about and having a laugh, but they were good times – and they yielded some great articles.

Web: www.totaloffroad.co.uk www.4x4i.com Online Shop: www.toronline.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/totaloffroad www.facebook.com/4x4Mag Editor Alan Kidd Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney Photographers Harry Hamm, Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Vic Peel, Phil Masters, Shelagh Ballard Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising Production Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to 4x4, or renew a subscription, call 01283 553242. Prices for 12 issues: UK £42 (24 issues £76); Europe Airmail/ROW Surface £54; ROW Airmail £78 Distributed by Marketforce; www.marketforce.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure the contents of 4x4 are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these.

When responding to any advert in 4x4, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org 4x4 is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House 1.08, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby, Derbyshire DE15 0YZ

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2022

4x4 01/08/2022 23:44

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NEWS

Volkswagen gets set to reclaim premium pick-up market with introduction of all-new Amarok

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olkswagen has unveiled the all-new Amarok, a premium pick-up truck which will be rolled out in various markets around the world starting from the end of this year.

Built in South Africa, the Amarok has been developed alongside the new Ford Ranger and will share that vehicle’s platform, drivetrains and cabin architecture. However the two manufacturers will position their vehicles differently, with the Amarok seeking to retain the top of the double-cab market – which its predecessor did an excellent job of making its own during a decade-long production run from 2010 to 2020.

Globally, the Amarok will be available in Single-Cab and Double-Cab

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form and with a choice of up to five engines. These are 2.0-litre TDI diesels developing 150, 170 and 204bhp, a 3.0-litre TDI with 241bhp and a 2.3-litre petrol unit with 302bhp. It’s likely that only the 170, 204 and 240bhp diesels will be offered in the UK. Five and six-speed manual gearboxes will exist in the range, though it’s unlikely that these will come to Britain. Instead, the 10-speed auto unit from the current Ranger can be expected to appear in most if not all Amaroks, with a six-speed auto also a possibility on entry-level models.

A choice of transfer cases offering both part-time and full-time fourwheel drive will also be available to Volkswagen’s importers around the world; it’s likely that Britain will only

see the latter. However a welcome change from the old Amarok is that being related to the Ranger, it will follow Ford’s lead in having both high and low-range gearing across all models. Previously, this was only available on vehicles with part-time four-wheel drive – a deal-breaker for many potential buyers.

Another huge obstacle in the way of sales to traditional pickup buyers was the old Amarok’s towing capacity, which lagged behind almost everything else in the market. However this too has been addressed, with the 3500kg legal maximum now applying on all the engines likely to come here.

Another area in which the old Amarok fell short was its rear-seat legroom, which was cramped at

best. This can be expected to be market-leading in the new Fordbased model; the old Ranger, which was longer overall, used its extra length to great effect here and the new platform will allow both companies to deliver excellent legroom for all five passengers in double-cab models. The Amarok’s 3270mm wheelbase is 173mm longer than before, and its overall length of 5350mm is 96mm longer. Thus the biggest gain is in the cabin area – though as Volkswagen points out, its shorter overhangs will also allow greater off-road ability, albeit at the cost of a less agile breakover angle.

For customers brave enough to take their expensive new truck in deep water, the new Amarok’s wading depth will be 800mm – a major

4x4 02/08/2022 00:03

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NEWS

The previous Amarok was the most convincingly premium pick-up ever to have been sold in the UK, and the new model will do everything to follow in its footsteps. A tablet-style infotainment screen is standard across the range; it measures 10” on lower-spec models and 12” on most that will come to Britain. Inductive phone charging, digital dash display and leather trim all become standard as you move up the range. A 10-speed auto box is likely to be fitted on all UK models, though manual boxes will be offered in other markets. A very pleasing improvement over the old model is that all models will now get low range; previously, this was restricted only to the lowest-speccers. Look carefully and you’ll also see a button here for a rear locker, which is standard on the PanAmericana model improvement over the 500mm of the previous model.

That’s before you add the snorkel that will be available as an accessory. Other off-road equipment on the list includes recovery points, underbody protection and uprated suspension adding a 20mm lift to the vehicle’s ground clearance.

While the Amarok will be presented as a working vehicle in many markets, Volkswagen also recognises that for other customers, particularly in the UK, it will be a leisure vehicle. To this end, a four-man roof tent will be available as an accessory – taking advantage of the vehicle’s 350kg static roof load capacity. Further load carrying options will also be offered, as will a choice of wheels ranging from 21” at the bling end of the scale to 18”, with all-terrain tyres, for the sort of use we like the sound of.

To this end, the global Amarok range will consist of five models.

The base-speccer, just called Amarok, will have adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, LED headlights, electric wing mirrors, a wide range of high-tech safety features and a tablet-format 10” DAB infotainment system with online connectivity. Its work-spec credentials are illustrated by 16” steel wheels, which sounds ideal for an expedition build, however it’s by no means certain that this model will be offered in the UK. Alloy wheels arrive with the Life model, as do body-coloured

bumpers, lumbar support and front parking sensors. Next up, the Style model adds dual-zone air-con, matrix LED headlights, a digital dash, inductive charging, a 230v power socket and 10-way driver’s seat adjustment; in addition, the alloys and media screen both get bigger.

Above this, Volkswagen will offer two parallel range-toppers. These are the Aventura, which has an urban theme to its styling, and the PanAmericana, described by the company as ‘the globetrotter of this product line.’

Both include a range of premium features including leather seats, a soft-touch faux leather dash, sat nav, Harman Kardon stereo, ambient cabin and cargo box lighting and

high-tech features including park assist, 360-degree surround view and cruise control with intelligent speed assist via road sign recognition. Both are fitted with an exclusive front bumper design, too.

The Aventura rolls on 20” alloys as standard and gets various bits of extra chrome, while the PanAmericana has 18” rims, black styling elements and a mechanically locking diff in its rear axle.

While the Amarok is significantly similar to the Ranger in so many ways, Volkswagen is confident that the vehicle will have its own character and personality – very important if buyers are to be convinced of its top-end credentials.

Last time, the old Amarok did a fine

job of seeing off the challenge from the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, to the extent that its Nissan-based rival died an early death. It won’t have escaped VW’s notice that basing a premium pick-up on an everyday model failed spectacularly then, and the company will be determined not to fall into the same trap that caught out its fellow German giant.

Prices for the Amarok are likely to be announced in the autumn, with a probable in-the-metal debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Its premium nature means it can be expected to push the double-cab market to new heights; expect exVAT prices to start above £30,000 and approach £50,000 for the Aventura and PanAmericana.

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NEW 4X4S

Bowler pitches in to top-end Defender market with introduction of new Extreme conversion

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NEW 4X4S

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owler Motors has launched the Extreme – a Land Rover Defender conversion based on the company’s original blueprint for the iconic Spectre 110 that’s been so widely copied since the Bond movie of the same name first came out.

Available in 90, 110 and 130 form, the conversion can be carried

out on customers’ own vehicles or donors sourced by Bowler. It features Bowler’s Stage 2 Fast Road package, which uses a remapped ECU and race-spec intercooler along with a deleted centre exhaust box to boost the 2.2 TDCi engine’s output to 175bhp and 332lbf.ft.

Helping make the most of this extra power and torque is Bowler’s

Fast Road suspension package, with a +2” lift making room for 35” BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains on deeply offset alloys with beadlock rims.

No, not quite the 37s of the Spectre original, but more than enough to give you limitless presence on the road. These have Bowler’s uprated brake package behind them, using 334mm front and 297mm rear discs along with 4-pot calipers developed in partnership with Alcon.

The aggression of the Defender’s lifted stance is augmented by Bowler’s lightweight bumper and steering guard, bonnet vents, rear step and, of course, a set of its enormous Bulldog wheelarches.

The vehicle also gets a full Safety Devices roll cage and integral roof rack, with the latter mounting a set of Sentinel LED spotlights from Lazer Lamps. The rest of the front lights are similarly upgraded too, and a pair of LED cubes take their place as work lights on the back of the cage.

Inside, Bowler Extreme customers will take their seat in a cabin trimmed with a bespoke blend of

leather and fabric. With all vehicles built to commission, this can be specified to suit each customer’s individual taste – as can the exterior paint colour. An upgraded stereo system and Momo steering wheel are standard equipment , as are Bowler’s own dimple-died gear and transfer levers.

The conversion is rounded off with a full soundproofing set, carpeting throughout and various fixtures and fittings in billet aluminium. It’s a familiar recipe in some ways – but with the credibility of Bowler’s name behind it, not to mention the fact that the company is now part of Land Rover’s own SVO empire, this is a Defender conversion with an above-average pedigree.

Does this translate into an above-average price? This will vary depending on the model year and condition of the base vehicle – however if you’re wanting a Spectre copy done on the cheap, you needn’t expect the company that created the original vehicle to be a great deal of help.

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NEW 4X4S

John Brown 4x4 launches electric conversion for Series Land Rovers

YORKSHIRE-BASED JOHN BROWN 4X4 HAS ANNOUNCED the arrival of its E-Series range of fully electric Land Rovers. This is one of several EV conversions to have come on to the market recently – but the Yorkshire-based classic Landy specialist intends to offer ‘a reliable product at a price currently unattainable elsewhere.’

The conversion is available on 88” and 109” versions of the Series II/IIA and III, all of which are offered only in turn-key form – at present, the company is not offering conversions to customer’s own vehicle, though it intends to do this in the future.

As well as the base vehicle, options include a choice of 24kWh and 40kWh options. The former is rated at 105bhp, with a working range of 50 miles, the latter at 105bhp (limited) and 80 miles. With around twice the power of a standard Series truck, not to mention the greater torque of an electric motor, performance is ‘a far cry from the original.’

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In each case, the vehicle can accommodate rapid charging and home charging via a wall box – or you can just plug it in to the mains.

The latter is the slowest way to charge an EV, but even this will only take six hours to brim the battery.

The company’s prototype vehicle and demonstrator is an 88” Series IIA dating from 1962. Previously rebuilt on a galvanised chassis but

retaining the patina of its age, this was chosen for the job ‘to demonstrate what can be done with any Series Land Rover, whether it be a nut and bolt restoration or an original and unrestored example.’

Pre-production work on the vehicle began in 2019, with the build process having been refined since then to achieve the best possible mechanical design while honing workshop efficiency.

‘For far too long,’ says the company, ‘the electric classic car market has been dictated by the few, who produce bespoke vehicles in small numbers – meaning there has never been the opportunity to mass produce and therefore reduce costs significantly across the board.’

Vehicles built in this way also have a number of features which the company says only it can offer.

These include repurposed original dials, GPS speedometers, full regenerative braking and a purpose-built electric heating system using the vehicle’s original heater-demister.

In addition, the 88” vehicle pictured here weighs 1310kg – 40kg less than standard – and its battery packs are upcycled from existing examples of current EVs. Customers ordering one of these vehicles from John Brown 4x4 are given a choice of doing so as part of a full nut and bolt rebuild, complete with bespoke spec options; with a galvanised chassis, similar to the company’s demonstrator; or in

4x4 02/08/2022 00:03

refurbished but unrestored form.

In each case, the vehicle can be specified with either the 24kWh or 40kWh battery pack.

‘John Brown 4x4 seeks to revolutionise the Electric Classic Land Rover Market,’ says the company.

Turn-key prices for the E-Series range start at £65,000 and climb to £100,000 including VAT, with the latter getting you a Series II/IIA with a full nut and bolt restoration to go with its 40kWh electric conversion.

Hot Wheels Legends Tour seeking an owner-built vehicle on which to bestow die-cast immortality WHAT’S THE ULTIMATE ACCOLADE FOR A PETROL-HEAD who’s built their own vehicle? Winning trophies, perhaps, or best-in-show awards… or even just that ten-feet-tall feeling when someone nods as they walk past and grunts ‘nice truck, mate.’

They’re all good. But nothing could be better than this. Imagine your own vehicle being immortalised as a Hot Wheels toy and going on sale all around the world. Bragging rights without equal, right?

It could happen, if your truck is cool enough. Because the Hot Wheels Legends Tour is currently searching for ‘the ultimate fan-built car to recreate for toy car fans and collectors around the world.’

Last year’s winner was a 1969 Volvo P1800 gasser from Somerset whose owner had turned it into a drag racing hot rod. Couldn’t be a lot further from a battered old off-roader, could it, or indeed a slick lane wagon or hardcore challenge truck? So if they’re wanting a contrast this year, it’s your time to waltz in.

Finalists in the contest will be chosen by a panel including none other than design legend Ian Callum, he of Jag and Aston fame. They’ll be looking for ‘the vehicle in the UK that best embodies Hot Wheels performance, authenticity and “garage spirit”.

This is the fifth year of the competition, and to mark the occasion the judges will pick both an overall winner and a regional finalist to be produced as die-cast models. So, twice the chance of finding fame, then.

Want to give it a bash? Of course you do. Just upload some info and a short video of your truck at www.hotwheelsuklegendstour.co.uk before 31 August and all your family and friends could soon be lining up for the least predictable Christmas presents of all time.

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RIGHTS OF WAY

Breakthrough on White Stones as Wrexham Council agrees to repair damage done in anti-4x4 rampage

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he ongoing battle against industrial-scale vandalism on White Stones is a step closer to being won, after Wrexham Council agreed to remove deliberate obstructions placed on the lane and repair damage done to it during a wildly destructive attempt to prevent 4x4s from using the right of way.

For many years, users of this beautiful and wholly sustainable right of way had to be wary of spikes dug into the ground in a bid to destroy vehicles’ tyres – but

which could have had far worse consequences for walkers or horse riders. Illegal obstructions started to appear in 2016, then around a year and a half ago the lane was subjected to what can only be described as a rampage – in which massive pits were dug in the surface and filled with branches and rolled-up fencing, boulders were pushed on to the right of way, a stream bed was dug out and a section of bedrock was smashed out to exaggerate an already hazardous side-slope into a ravine alongside the track.

Lauren Eaton of the Green Lane Association had been working tirelessly on the case for around a year by the time the local authority agreed to a pre-final hearing meeting – after which it accepted its responsibility to remove the obstructions and repair the damage done to the lane.

In addition to this, North Wales Police have ‘agreed to assist in attempts to prevent the culprit from repeat offending.’

Wales is of course home to many of Britain’s best rights of way –

but unfortunately also to many of the most entrenched battles that have raged over individual lanes.

White Stones has been one of the highest-profile, but with luck these latest developments will bring this particular saga to an end.

‘It’s been a long slog,’ comments Lauren. ‘But it will be worth it to re-open a lane that has been unusable to all but the most adventurous walkers and twowheeled users for several years.’

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RIGHTS OF WAY

Mystery surrounds West Yorks lane repairs after closures are followed by inaction KIRKLEES COUNCIL HAS CLOSED a trio of green lanes for repairs – though what’s going to be done to them remains something of a mystery.

Principal among the lanes is Cheese Gate Nab, a long-time favourite thanks to a heavily washed-out erosion gully on a steep corner which, when travelling downhill, throws vehicles into dramatic positions with a rear wheel hanging in the air. This was already subject to voluntary restraint advising against uphill use, but Kirklees imposed an 18-month TRO on it last summer – only for the Green Lane Association’s West Yorkshire Rep Alex Davidson to be forced into asking questions when, come spring this year, no work had actually started.

‘All three of these lanes are in an area which has, over the past two years, suffered serious abuse from anti-social 4x4 driving and has local opposition to 4x4 use,’ says Alex.

‘The police have been monitoring them and have issued some Section 59 cautions.’

The other two lanes are Scaley Gate and Scar End Lane, part of a network of unclassified roads which also includes Hirst Lane – on which we were once overtaken by a mountain biker while in our old long-term Skoda Kodiaq. ‘These two lanes have recently had a temporary traffic regulation order imposed to allow repairs to take place,’ says Alex.

‘The situation will be monitored closely since, after speaking to the council Highways department it may be that no repairs take place.’

At the time of writing, Alex reported that the TRO notice was only posted at one entry point to the lanes, to which access is physically blocked, and that another unofficial sign has appeared claiming that the lanes are private land.

Essex lanes set to be repaired after legal notices force action – but there’s still a long way to go ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL has agreed to repair two byways near Debden following a legal tussle with the Green Lane Association.

Having served Section 56 notices requiring repair action to take place on three rights of way, GLASS was pleased to see one of them being restored and reopened – however the remaining two remained unusable, with one still subject to a TRO at the time of writing.

‘We were left with no option but to apply to the court for judgment,’ says Essex Rep Rob Tongue. ‘Just prior to that action, Essex County Council came round and an agreement on repairs was made.’

These will be carried out in three stages: 1) Landowner reinstates the legal line 2) Essex County Council starts repair work on one section, with GLASS volunteers preparing it in advance by cutting back vegetation 3) A final section is repaired and the lane reopens fully Rob reports that the final stage is unlikely to happen until next year, when new funding becomes available. ‘We will continue to monitor progress,’ he says, ‘and still have the option to go to court if they fail to honour the agreement.’

A team from the Green Lane Association recently completed clearance work on Creech Hill Lane, near Castle Cary in Somerset. This was the association’s first lane clearance in the county; it saw a number of fallen trees being removed to make the right of way passable once again to 4x4s. Somerset Rep Charlie Moore asks those using the lane to take special care when passing the farm midway along its length

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MOTORSPORT

British-based Team Gumtree 4x4 wins Unmodified class in Kenyan Rhino Charge for the third time Words: Olly Sack Pictures: Shelagh Ballard

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ritish based Team Gumtree 4x4 has completed a unique trio of sporting successes – by winning its class for the third time in the Kenyan Rhino Charge.

The team’s vehicle is a classic ‘bitsa’ made from a variety of Land Rover components that were lying around Gumtree’s workshop at the time – a 90 chassis, Series III bulkhead, 4.0-litre V8 engine, LT95

gearbox and axles containing a Detroit Locker at the back and Truetrac at the front. It qualifies for the Unmodified Class in the Charge mainly by not being equipped with portal axles or a twin-motor winch.

The Rhino Charge predates challenge events by years, but in some ways it’s similar in principle to the way they operate. Teams are given 13 checkpoints and 10 hours in which to visit them all; the winner is the team that does so while covering the shortest distance.

While this sounds simple enough, the distance between two

checkpoints may only be a couple of hundred yards – but it might also be up a cliff or across a field of carsized rocks. Teams have to decide whether to take the short, potentially extreme line or save time by going the longer way round.

To aid them in doing this, a team really is a team. As well as a driver and navigator, each vehicle carries a crew of runners whose job is to scout ahead for hazards and routes through the terrain. It’s like walking a trials course, but in real time and on a huge scale.

For Team Gumtree 4x4, the driver was John Bowden – founder of the famous Sussex-based Land Rover specialist of the same name and a long-term supporter of the event’s charitable aims. He was navigated

by Lorian Campbell-Clause, making full use of satellite images as well

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MOTORSPORT

SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS JEEP - LAND ROVER SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS JEEP LAND ROVER QUALITY GUARANTEED USED PARTS AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS QUALITY GUARANTEED PARTS SOME OF THE VEHICLESUSED WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED: SOME OF THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED:

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The other vital team member is Chief Mechanic Chris Ballard, who preps the Land Rover every year to ensure it has the reliability needed to battle its way through the bush for 10 hours non-stop. Bearing in mind that the terrain is chosen with Unimog-axled prototypes in mind, that’s no small task.

The vehicle was originally built in Gumtree’s own premises, mainly by

workshop maestro Martin Stapleton – a man whose own competition vehicles go before him. It won the first UK version of the Rhino Charge in 1997 before being freighted out to Kenya in 2000, where it has lived ever since. This was Team Gumtree 4x4’s 23rd event in total, with the clock currently running at more than £160,000 raised for Rhino Ark. In addition to winning its class this year, the team was positioned 13th overall – a result which placed John and his crew ahead of more then 30 portal-axled rivals. As

‘Losing our brakes made less difference than I expected –though there was one hill I came down with never more than one wheel on the ground at a time!’

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SEPTEMBER 2022 | 17

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MOTORSPORT ‘We really abused them,’ says John.

‘I had them smoking on rocks at one point, but they were faultless from the point of view of sidewall and tread damage, punctures and so on.’

John’s Land Rover covered exactly 35.92 kilometres while visiting all 13 checkpoints. This compared to a best possible distance of 20 kilometres as the crow flies – though when you learn that the winning vehicle,

Sean Avery’s Series II/Discovery hybrid, only covered 24.72km, you can see the standard achieved by the top competitors.

This also equates to an overall speed of 1.5mph, which should also tell you something about how serious the off-roading is on the Rhino Charge. It might be a charity event – but it’s also one of the most challenging tests any 4x4 can endure.

OFF-ROADING FOR A WORTHY CAUSE

always, however, fate is a fickle mistress in the world of motorsport – and the outcome could easily have been very different.

‘Our fuel tank split at about midday after we landed the guard on a boulder,’ John explains. ‘We repaired it well enough to finish, but then we lost our brakes three sections from home, most likely when a branch pulled the brake pipe off the rear axle.

‘It made less difference than I expected, actually. Though there was one hill I came down with never more than one wheel on the ground at a time!

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John was also gracious enough to point out that had Petra Somen’s Bushbabes team not got stuck on some enormous lava rocks 150 metres from their last checkpoint, they would have beten him to the class victory. ‘They said it should have been called the Obelix Charge, because it looked as if he had lived there and been having fun throwing all these boulders around!’

Team Gumtree 4x4 was supported by Britpart, which donated a 12,000lb winch and a number of other parts. In addition, Silverstone Tyres in Nairobi supplied six General Grabber X3s.

ONE OF THE REASONS for the Rhino Charge’s enduring popularity is that it raises money for an extremely good cause. The Rhino Ark is a charity set up in 1988 in a bid to save the Black Rhino from being poached to extinction in the Aberdare National Park; thanks to its efforts, the entire park is now encircled by a game-proof fence designed to prevent poaching and illegal logging as well as keeping animals from damaging farms.

In more recent times, the Rhino Ark has expanded its efforts to support conservation in other mountain ecosystems, notably around Mount Kenya and Mount Eburu. This has made a real difference to the lives of people living alongside Kenya’s indigenous species, as well as protecting the animals against the worst of the human race – all of it made possible by fundraising donations which have so far topped £11million.

There has always been a great deal of British interest in the Charge, and a UK version ran for several years starting in 1997. Gumtree’s John Bowden has been a trustee of the charity’s British arm since 2000 and is currently hoping to get one of the big names from Ultra4 or the winch challenge scene to give Kenya a go.

Up for it? You can reach him at john@rhinoark.org.

4x4 01/08/2022 23:56

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09/11/2021 19:15:17

PRODUCTS

Nissan Leaf output adaptor lets you turn your 4x4 into an EV Price: From £350 plus VAT From: www.onlinegearboxparts.com IF YOU’RE READY TO TAKE THE PLUNGE and convert your 4x4 to electric power, this divorced output coupler from the everinnovative Syncro Gearboxes allows you to do so using the EM57 motor from a Nissan Leaf.

There are those whose jaws will drop at the suggestion. But with similar torque to a Land Rover Tdi engine the moment you touch the pedal, this is not to be sniffed at.

Syncro Gearboxes’ adaptor is CNC machined from billet aluminium and fitted with a high speed bearing, and the chromoly flange is retained in the adapter to ensure it can’t come off. It allows you to bolt the motor’s output to a driveshaft, coupling it to an axle – or, assuming you still want four-wheel drive, your vehicle’s transfer box.

Lazer Lamps adds LED bar fitting kit for new Defender

Flinders roof tent designed for quick set-up and break-down

Price: £18 From: www.lazerlamps.com

Price: ca £1500 From: Britpart stockists ARB’S FLINDERS ROOF TENT is designed for quick set-up and pack-up – and has the added practicality of being able to store all your bedding inside it when it’s folded down.

The tent has a height of just 200mm when packed away, which means less wind drag and better access to trails with low tree cover. When open, it contains a 2400 x 1400mm sleeping area with five zippered windows and a 50mm high-density foam mattress. It’s made using 300gsm polycotton rip-stop canvas and 420D Oxford polyester fly, and weighs around 56kg, and features include an LED touch lamp and two USB charging points which connect to a 12-volt outlet within your vehicle.

LAZER LAMPS’ LATEST NEW MOUNTING KIT for its LED range is designed to let you use its Linear-36 array with the OEM Expedition Roof Rack System on the current Land Rover Defender.

Comprising a set of brackets along with the rivnuts, bolts and spring washers required to fit them, the kit allows Lazer’s highperformance LED bar to be slung across the front underside of the Defender’s rack. The installation is fully road legal and the kit, which is designed and manufactured in the UK, uses stainless steel hardware throughout.

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PRODUCTS

Workshop tool storage options that can be used separately or together Price: £191.94 (chest); £346.80 (cabinet) From: www.machinemart.co.uk CLARKE’S CBB209C 28” 9-DRAWER TOOL CHEST AND CBB217C 7-DRAWER TOOL CABINET can be used individually – though they’re designed to work a treat together, too. The latter has soft, cushioned matting up top, providing a non-slip work surface – or a perfect platform for the former to sit on.

Across both items, each drawer has ball bearing runners for smooth opening and closing. Full-width aluminium handles and anti-slip liners promise excellent ergonomic performance, while a push-lock feature prevents accidental opening if the unit is tilted.

The 9-Drawer Chest is fitted with carry handles for portability, while the 7-Drawer Cabinet has 5” industrial grade chrome spoked wheels and a side handle, allowing you to wheel it around the workshop with ease. It’s made from extra heavy gauge double-wall steel and has a reinforced base, all of which goes towards keeping your tools safe and sound.

From roof tents and awnings to cookware and barbecues, LVB supplies all your overland and camping requirements.

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4x4 02/08/2022 00:11

PRODUCTS

BUDGET 2” LIFT FOR LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 AND 4 Price: £200 From: dirtmonkeyoffroadltd.co.uk THE LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 AND 4 are becoming increasingly popular as green lane wagons and overland motors. In each case, a bit more ground clearance and the opportunity to fit bigger, more rugged tyres will definitely be on your to-do list – and Dirt Monkey Offroad’s +2” coil spring spacers offer an easy way to achieve just that.

Designed for use on vehicles with steel springs as original equipment, or those which have been converted from air, these are made from 6mm high-strength steel, laser-cut for a precise fit and MIG welded for strength.

Sitting between the chassis mount and the top of the suspension strut, the spacers provide 2” of lift more cheaply than fitting longer springs. They’re finished in a corrosion-resistant powder coat and supplied as a kit including all the fixings required to fit them.

Adjustable bushes for BMW X5 and X6 Price: £251.76 From: powerflexstore.co.uk POWERFLEX HAS INTRODUCED a Camber Adjustable Upper Wishbone Bush to fit the E70/F15 and E71/F16 BMW X5 and X6. These are designed to improve handling and driving feel – as well as allowing up to +/– 0.5° of on-car front camber adjustment to help fine-tune wheel alignment for better tyre life.

Made from 96A durometer polyurethane in CNC-machined stainless adjustable sleeves, these bushes are 30% stiffer then rubber. They won’t go off with age, either – and Powerflex backs this up with a lifetime warranty.

The Uk’s Leading Manufacturers Of Quality Van, Suv & Pick Up Truck Accessories WWW.GEARMATE.CO.UK T: 01789 595 200

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Ford Ranger Big Brake Kit Ad - Jan 2020 - UK.pdf

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PRODUCTS

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Solid mass flywheel clutch for D40 Navara

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Price: £425 plus VAT From: lofclutches.com THE POWERSPEC NISSAN NAVARA SOLID MASS FLYWHEEL CLUTCH KIT from LOF Clutches is designed for hard-worked D40s from 2005-2010, such as those that two regularly or have been built up for expedition use. It’s suitable for vehicles with the 2.5dCi engine in 172bhp form but also promises reliability and drivability from Stage 2 mapped vehicles, with a pedal weight that’s no heavier than the original.

The kit includes a heavy-duty drive plate, cover, solid mass flywheel, release bearing and spigot bearing, along with all the hardware and ancillaries required to fit them. You even get an alignment tool and a tube of spline assembly grease – as well as LOF’s own two-year warranty.

Stainless steel abutments.

For the discerning driver who is particular about how eXtreme Brake Kit. The braking results are staggering with the inclusion of a larger 6 pot caliper design, high tech TrakRyder eXtreme kevlar ceramic pads mated with a 10 slot dimpled and geomet coated larger diameter rotor.

Bigger braking surface means bigger stopping power. With the fitment of the all new Pedders TrakRyder eXtreme brake kit, independent Australian Engineering tests reflected an average improvement in braking distance by up to 14%.

Features: • Stainless steel braided hoses.

• 10 slot and dimpled TrakRyder geomet coated rotors 14”/356mm diameter (OE 11.85”/301mm).

• TrakRyder eXtreme Kevlar Ceramic low dust brake pads.

• TrakRyder eXtreme 6 pot design caliper brackets and bolts.

• 6 Pot, 2 piece aluminium forged calipers.

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Specialising in Suspension solutions since 1950 For further information go to www.pedders.co.uk or please contact your local Pedders experts.

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4x4

MAGAZINE

Jeep Parts & Accessories -

SUSPENSION LIFT KITS FILTERS AND SERVICE ITEMS REPLACEMENT PARTS WHEELS SOFT TOPS AXLE REGEARING

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HALOGEN AND LED AMBER BEACONS FROM OSRAM Price: £35 approx From: Osram stockists IF YOU’RE IN NEED OF AN AMBER BEACON to go on top of your truck, Osram has added not one but two options to its ever-expanding range of vehicle lighting products.

The LIGHTsignal HAL is a 360° rotating halogen beacon with a rubber base and a three-point mounting system that’s suitable for use on vehicles

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PRODUCTS

ARB’s premium hard-top for double-cabs joins Truckman range Price: £3360 From: www.truckman.co.uk ARB’S PREMIUM ASCENT HARD-TOP is now available in the UK through Truckman – the 4x4 specialist which was last year wholly acquired by the Australian company.

Designed with a focus on vehicle integration, security and functionality, the Ascent is made from heavy-duty 9mm ABS plastic which gives it a static weight is between 350kg and 400kg – making it ideal for carrying recovery equipment or fitting accessories such as roof tents. It features an LED brake light, along with hard-wired interior lighting, and is also fully integrated with the vehicle’s central locking system. Its side windows, too, have electric push-button operation.

The Ascent is aimed at commercial and leisure pick-up users alike. It’s currently available for double-cab versions of the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok.

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with 24v electrics. It produces 1900 lumens and 2200 Kelvin and has been certified to comply with IP65 protection standards.

The LIGHTsignal LED Beacon Light, meanwhile, offers many of the same features – while delivering 1900 Kelvin and 1200 lumens from an array of eight long-life high-power LEDs. With lower power consumption, it can be used on 12v and 24v vehicles alike and offers thermal management and polarity reversal protection in addition to the same IP65 rating.

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Groundcare • Car • ATV • Tubes • Mobile Tyre Fitting Puncture Equipment & Repairs • Four Wheel Alignment Durrants Farm, Rushlake Green, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9QB

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4X4 TYRE EXPERTS & OFF ROAD SPECIALISTS Alloy and steel wheels for van, car, SUV & 4X4

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At Silverline we stock & fit only the toughest tried and tested Ausi Ironman 4x4 suspension modification kits from leaf spring to coil spring.

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Summer holiday adventures begin at Silverline 4x4!

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ith temperatures rising and off-road lovers preparing for some adventures in the sun, Silverline 4x4 is calling on everyone to make it a summer to remember by customising their vehicles with one of their experts.

Its bespoke wheel and tyre packages are amongst the most impressive in the UK, both on price and genuine quality. All the best brands are under one roof in Warwick, and one call to the Silverline 4x4 team is all you need to find out what solutions suit your needs.

Silverline 4x4’s centre manager Simon Mepstead said: ‘Now is the perfect time to come and see us, as we can add some magic to your pride-and-joy! Off-roading and 4x4s is most definitely a passion for many of us and we continue to be busy, as we’re transforming the look and feel of so many 4x4s and pick-ups. We are finding that more customers are coming to us because they want to customise their vehicles rather than replace them.’

Rather than sell on price, Silverline 4x4 advises iots customers on the right solution for each vehicle they see. Simon added: ‘Our services aren’t like conventional automotive centres in so far as our products aren’t viewed as distress

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purchases, so price isn’t the overriding factor as the specific solution is the main requirement.’

Silverline 4x4 is the only garage anywhere in the UK to stock the critically-acclaimed Unigrip tyre range, starring the Unigrip Lateral Force and Road Force tyres, available in 15” up to 20” .

Simon added: ‘Having driven on Unigrip ourselves, we can vouch for

their performance capabilities in the most uncompromising of conditions. Unigrip Tyre gives you the confidence to enjoy the road, while helping to keep you safe behind the wheel.

‘Unigrip dedicates to innovation, technology and development of new patterns, sizes, compounds and state of the art technology and we’re thrilled to stock their 4x4 portfolio.

Unigrip really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Silverline 4x4 stocks Unigrip tyres in 14 different sizes, which plays a vital role in full tyre coverage for each and every visiting motorist.’

For more information about Silverline 4x4, pay a visit to www. silverlinewheels-tyres.com or call 01926 490002

02/08/2022 11:11

DRIVEN

SUBARU XV 2.0 E-BOXER Subaru’s smallest SUV is a rugged crossover that does everything well enough to compete all round – then pulls a rabbit out of the hat when the tarmac ends and the real fun begins

THE SUBARU XV BECAME A CLASS WINNER in our 4x4 of the Year awards when it was first launched. Then last year it was facelifted – and it became a class winner all over again.

Here’s where we get the chance to explain in greater detail what impresses us about Subaru’s smallest SUV. It’s been six months or so since the brief experience on which our initial assessment of the newshape XV was made – but a week in the driver’s seat including plenty of running around in town, several lengthy sessions on fast roads and some dry, dusty green laning is a week of pretty much exactly what Subaru’s vehicles are all about.

This, the second generation XV, was the company’s first SUV to be built on its Global Platform. It has since been followed by the Forester and Outback, but when it was new it could make a strong argument for being considered the safest family car on the market.

It became safer still when it was launched last year, thanks to a range of new high-tech measures including a Front View Monitor which constantly scans the blind spot just in front of the bonnet. The spring and shocks were revised, too, and the X-Mode and SI-Drive systems were tuned to let drivers trim the vehicle to suit the conditions both on and off-road.

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What hasn’t changed is the 2.0-litre boxer engine, which continues to be part of a hybrid system driving all four wheels through a CVT automatic gearbox. It produces 150bhp and 194lbf.ft, in each case needing a decent whack of revs to get it there (5600 and 4000 respectively) and delivers a 0-62 time of 10.7 seconds and top speed of 120mph while returning 35.7mpg combined and 180g/km.

So, the figures probably don’t make the most exciting reading. But there’s a reason why the XV has become a serial class winner in 4x4 of the Year. Instead of hanging its hat on one single aspect of its performance, it manages to get 95% of the way there in every area there is – making it an exceptional all-rounder. Which is right at the heart of what makes a crossover what it is.

Actually, the XV does have something to hang its hat on. So many crossovers look rugged and are good at everything – but when you take them off-road, they wilt. The XV is the opposite: show it ruts, steep hills and slippery wet grass, and it roars with delight. Its ability to find traction where there is none is little short of incredible, and even on road-going tyres it can plough through the sort of deep, wet mud you’d think twice about tackling in a Wrangler or Land Cruiser if you didn’t have a means of recovery on hand.

We know that of old, and while the improvements made to Subaru’s X-Mode programme are aimed more at treacherous road conditions they certainly won’t do its mud-plugging ability any harm. On this occasion, though, we were dealing with what for most people will be more of a real-world kind of off-roading – hard-packed, loose, stony tracks whose surface was baked hard by the summer sun.

This is where a vehicle’s traction gets another kind of test, because naturally the ground allows you to press on way more quickly than seriously uneven or deeply muddy terrain. It’s a test of suspension, in particular your shocks, and it requires the all-wheel drive set-up to keep on top of the slide you’re always on the verge of drifting into.

Subarus have a wonderful way of just taking it all in their stride, and that’s exactly what the XV did here. Obviously, as with every vehicle you

4x4 02/08/2022 13:01

DRIVEN

The XV’s cabin is tidy, well made and comfortable. It’s not the last word in excitement, but it makes up for that with its general practicality and ergonomics – in particular, the dash controls are very easy to find your way around. Knee and head room in the rear are adequate but not amazing, however when the seats fold down they reveal a long and almost completely flat cargo area akin to a small van have to heed the laws of physics, but to be honest you can push it way further than you’d think possible and the XV will stay with you. Without getting too scientific, you get chuck it around the place to your heart’s content and even on loose, dusty trails covered in stones the size of marbles, the urge to go sideways will never get the better of it. There’s decades of knowledge and expertise in the way it’s set up, and every last bit of it shows.

The same prodigious grip is on your side on the road, where you can treat the XV like a wannabe rally car without it ever showing any sign of getting upset. It’s not staggeringly crisp in corners, but it has a balance of handling and ride that seems to put a huge margin of safety into every scenario. As those figures suggest, this is not a vastly quick vehicle, but the overwhelming competence of its chassis means it can be driven more quickly, more often, than a good many SUVs and crossovers whose stats make them sound hotter.

When you’re not doing that, you can enjoy just palming it around in town, where its suspension draws the sting from even the most hopelessly broken roads, or cruising quietly along on the motorway. Here, the engine’s refinement is exemplary; it’s as smooth as silk at cruising speeds and almost completely silent, with a little swoosh of tyre noise but minimal wind buffeting and nothing of note from the suspension. You could drive all day in this vehicle, whether around town or across a continent (or indeed from one end to the other of the world’s most seek-outable B-road), and feel fresh as a daisy afterwards.

A generally relaxing cabin environment helps here. The seats are comfortable, supportive and trimmed in a decent grade of leather and you get a good view of the road ahead, and indeed all around. The dash has a nice simplicity that lets you concentrate on what you’re doing, too, and if you need to use the infotainment module its menus are intuitive – though the touchscreen doesn’t respond quickly enough to inputs, which can be distracting.

Its display is bold and very clear, though, which is important, and so too are the controls on the dash, with big, clearly labelled buttons and switches that don’t require more than a glance away from the road.

The dash in general doesn’t look as if it’s trying to excite you. There’s nothing offensive about it, but it’s quite functional – and it’s made from

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plastics which are decent in quality but hardly a treat. The cabin looks fine all-round – not premium, but there’s an air of quality and robustness that comes through in everything you look at or touch.

In the back, knee and head room alike are adequate and no more. With the front seat adjusted for a six-foot driver, a passenger of the same height will sit with their knees pushed into the back of the seat ahead and their head brushing the roof lining just a little too hard. Those seat-backs and soft and sculpted, so it’s not the end of the world, but it doesn’t feel at all spacious for adults travelling in the rear.

It’s very good for carrying big loads of cargo, however. The seat backs drop down to lie as good as entirely flat, creating a big, long and very usable cargo area that’s loaded through a low lip and on to a concomitantly low floor. Thus we’d say the XV is brilliant as a general family holdall, but the compromises will start to show when your kids get to the point where they’re taller than you.

As all-rounders go, then, this is a 4x4 with a whole lot going for it. It’s a fun, practical and super-safe family wagon, a great companion on the road and an unsung hero in the rough. It’s good value, too: the range starts at £33,195 for the SE model, while the SE Premium we drove adds leather, satnav, power seats and a sunroof for an even more impressive £35,195.

The only problem might be that there are other Subarus up ahead. The new Outback starts at £35,995 and the Forester at £37,895, and each will bring you a lot of the same qualities as the XV in bigger packages. You’re into the realms of personal choice there, though – and if you get what Subaru is all about, the good news is that this smallest crossover in its range punches as well above its weight as ever.

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DRIVEN

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE? There are many ways in which the Citroën C5 Aircross and Peugeot 3008 are identical. But what matters is the differences between them – which are more than just skin deep

PEUGEOT AND CITROËN have been part of the same corporation for a long time. Recently, that corporation became even bigger when Vauxhall, Fiat, Maserati, Jeep and Alfa Romeo joined the party to create the cringeably named Stellantis organisation. But in the shape of the old PSA group, the two French giants had been united since Peugeot bought a majority share in Citroën back in 1976.

What does this have to do with off-roading? Clearly, the Citroën C5 Aircross and Peugeot 3008 you see in these pictures were not made to conquer the Sahara. But just like certain other 4x4 brands we could mention, Citroën and Peugeot make vehicles these days which trade on their brands’ history.

Talking of the Sahara, did you know that the first vehicle to cross it was a Citroën? A hundred years ago, as it happens, in 1922, using vehicles converted into half-tracks. And if you care to add together the number of times Land Rover, Jeep, Hummer and Toyota have won the Dakar Rally between them, it’s half as many as Peugeot.

Does this translate itself into any of the few differences there are between the 3008 and C5 Aircross? It’s probably fanciful, but perhaps the Peugeot has the sportier image of the two, while the Citroën comes across as more of a practicality-led expedition machine. Actually, now we’re saying that out loud it sounds more than just probably fanciful…

These are two very similar vehicles. Same platform, same engines (as tested), same transmissions, even a lot of the same design quirks and

Power for the C5 Aircross comes from a hybrid system mating a 1.6-litre petrol engine to an 81kW electric motor for a total output of 225bhp and 266lbf.ft. It’ll do 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds and top out at 140 – but the figures that matter in this market are 157.2-222.3mpg, 32-41g/km and 33-40 miles on electric power alone

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equipment. There are differences, but aside from the obvious they come in the shape of details alone.

The 3008 has a more aggressive front end and a ‘faster’ body shape overall, while the C5 Aircross sits up a little more behind a bluff front end.

Both vehicles have the rugged looking black lower body cladding that’s become a signature part of the general SUV look, but on the C5 this is heavily exaggerated as a deign feature along the sills and front bumper. The 3008, on the other hand, treats it as something to be contrasted with by large areas of sharply angled chrome.

We don’t normally talk about vehicles’ styling when we review them, on the basis that you can look at the pictures and see for yourself. It seems relevant here, however – because for the majority of people faced with choosing between these two, it will come down to the one they fancy.

Actually, it will also come down to which you can get the better deal on, and whether there’s one you can get hold of at all. But these things being equal (and they’re unlikely to be far apart), a lot will come down to looks.

Our own view on this subject is irrelevant, because looks are down to personal taste and who’s to say we’re right and you’re wrong. But we did canvass a few opinions and most people preferred the 3008, for what that’s worth. Again, nothing, on the face of it, though it might perhaps have a bearing on how easy you find it to sell the vehicle on again afterwards. Not that either of these should be slow to move at the right price.

Looks familiar? The shape of the engine bay might be a little different, but the 3008 tested here gets its power from exactly the same set-up. This time, you’re looking at 8.9 seconds; top speed and fuel economy are identical to the C5’s, but CO2 is quoted at 31g/km and it’ll do 32-39 miles in fully electric mode

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DRIVEN

Despite being the same basic vehicle underneath, the C5 Aircross (left) andf 3008 (right) feel clearly distinct from one another inside. The Citroën’s classy brown leather is optional (and expensively so) but even without it, the vehicle’s interior design has the edge. The materials in the 3008’s cabin, on the other hand, feel much better, particularly the plastics from which its dash is made. Neither feels particularly special, but combining the best elements of both would create something worthy of premium status

Talking of being slow to move, or otherwise, each has the same plug-in hybrid powertrain. It’s a 1.6-litre petrol unit mated to an electric motor, with a total system output of 225bhp and 266lbf.ft, behind which an 8-speed automatic box sends drive to the front wheels only.

Yes, we thought that too. With such rich heritage, would it be asking too much to slide a second electric motor into the back and give the vehicles all-wheel drive? The good news is that they do, further up the range, but we’re slumming it here and to be fair, if you’re going to go off-road in the sort of conditions that require two driven axles, are you actually going to choose one of these to do it in?

Anyway, the options list includes Grip Control, which has long been Peugeot and Citroën’s alternative to all-wheel drive. It’s an enhanced traction management system for the front wheels and while it wasn’t fitted on either of the particular vehicles tested here, we’ve used it plenty of times before and (to our initial surprise, we must confess) it’s very effective.

By ’slumming it,’ anyway, we mean £36,430 in the case of the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV Shine Plus Plug-in Hybrid ë-EAT8 PureTech 180 + 80kW electric motor (honestly, that’s what it says at the top of the spec sheet they sent us) or £38,010 for the Peugeot 3008 Allure Premium HYBRID 225 e-EAT8.

Options change things a bit, though: our C5 was specced up to £40,465, whereas the 3008 would only cost you £39,430.

Similar, then, if not quite identical. And it’s the same deal with the rest of the figures. The 3008 promises 32-29 miles on electric power alone, CO2 emissions of 31g/km and fuel economy figures between 157.2 and 222.3mpg. Top speed is 140mph (84 in electric mode) and 0-62 comes up in 8.9 seconds.

The C5 matches this, as you’d expect it would, with 33-40 e-miles, 32-41g/km and, again 157.2222.3mpg. This time it’ll do the 0-62 in 8.7 seconds (a face off between these two would make for edge-

of-the-seat viewing from the bank at Santa Pod), however terminal velocity remains the same at 140.

In terms of charging, the C5 has a 6.6kW onboard charger, while the 3008’s is 3.7kW as standard (a 7.4kW unit is on the options list). You can bat the numbers back and forth, but what you need to know is that if you plug either of them into a wall box at home, or a public charging point at work, it will be at 100% well in time for your next journey.

So, is it all just about which one looks cooler to your eyes? No, actually. On the inside, there are differences which mean that depending on your particular four-wheeled needs, one is likely to be much better suited than the other.

The big one is accommodation. If you regularly carry long-legged passengers, it’s got to be the 3008. Here, one six-footer can sit behind another, whereas in the C5 it’s not happening, even with the seats slid all the way back – our editor is pretty much six feet tall exactly and for him to be able to fit in the back, the driver’s seat needed to be so far forward that he felt like he couldn’t drive properly in it.

The C5’s headroom, on the other hand, is excellent front and rear, as is the view out. In the 3008, on the other hand, tall passengers will feel cramped up top in the rear. At least they’ll be able to get in it in the first place, though.

If it’s children who regularly occupy your rear seats, on the other hand, either of these vehicles will do the job admirably. And if carrying large loads of cargo is something you do a lot, the C5 will take the lead. It has a sophisticated seat-folding mechanism which sees the base fall away as the back drops down, leaving a completely flat, step-free floor which is as long as you could possibly ask for. It’s excellent in this way.

The rear seats also have a 40:20:40 split, which has the potential to add another layer of practicality. Honestly, we found that it just added another layer of complexity and fussiness instead, but we can see ways in which it could be useful. The 3008, meanwhile, is a lot more traditional with a 60:40 split and simple drop-down backs which fold to leave a sloping floor.

One area in which the 3008 is a lot better is in its interior materials. This is never more apparent than when you open the C5’s tailgate – to be greeted by

The 3008 was tested on 225/55/R18 tyres, while the C5 Aircross was on lower-profile 19-inchers. Yet there’s a greater sharpness to the Peugeot in really spirited use – which is balanced out by the Citroën’s smoother, more settled ride on poor roads

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As these two images of the C5 Aircross attempt to illustrate, the second row of seats could be enough to make or break your choice between these two SUVs. If you regularly need to carry tall passengers in the back, the vehicle’s legroom (or lack of, even with the seats slid fully back) will put you right off. For cargo carrying, on the other hand, they have a clever folding mechanism which allows them to create a floor that’s long and fully flat. The plastic boot sides feel really scratchy and nasty, though

big swathes of simple, scratchy black plastic trim up both sides of the boot.

There’s a great deal of similarly unpleasant plastic on the dash, too, which doesn’t creak much but certainly has the effect of making the vehicle look and feel cheap.

That’s a shame, because the cabin has quite a funky design to it that dares to be different, with vertically stacked air vents around the media screen and an unusual panel of touch buttons below it. Our vehicle had brown leather inserts to match its nappa leather seats, too (these also give you a massage, and not surprisingly they’re where the biggest chunk of the options money went), all of which makes for a bold and quirky interior that won’t be to everyone’s taste but certainly stands out in a crowd.

It also stands out in the practicality stakes, with a central cubby box that’s bigger than the guest bedroom in your typical modern new-build. The 3008 is by contrast generally more conservative, doing the normal things well rather than trying to reinvent the wheel and decorating it all in a nice combination of metallic switchgear and cloth-style elements which conveys a feeling of quality that’s backed up by far better plastics than Citroën’s.

In terms of driving them, the differences are less obvious but they do exist. As we’ve mentioned already, they’re as good as identical performance-wise, but the 3008 feels as if it’s trying to be sportier in its steering and handling. We’re not talking about huge difference, but there’s a greater sharpness to its turn-in – however unless you’re the kind of driver who really goes for it on B-roads, what you’re most likely to notice is that it rides harder than the C5, whose body stays more settled over crummy roads and doesn’t turn as many pot holes into shuddering impacts upon your bottom. Again, though, the differences are no more than marginal.

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One area in which both vehicles managed to make us grind our teeth was on the motorway. Both ride smoothly and keep out all but a bit of background noise, but cruise control is standard – standard and, in each case, next-level annoying. The controls, which include a toggle switch between cruise and speed limiter function, as well as distance control for the radar, are on a separate stalk – so that’s a whole lot of buttons, and guess what? It’s completely hidden from your eye line by one of the spokes of the steering wheel.

As if that’s not ridiculous enough, every time we tried to set the cruise control it knocked us back with a message saying ‘conditions not suitable.’

Driving along on an empty motorway is normally considered suitable, and indeed every other vehicle we’ve ever tested has agreed with our view on this, but perhaps Peugeot and Citroën know something the rest of the entire car industry doesn’t. To be fair on the 3008, we did manage to get it to engage a couple of times in among all the swearing, but with no apparent relation to the actual conditions outside.

In situations like these, we always have to ask ourselves whether we’re being impatient. A test driver’s job is to learn about the vehicle before making judgements, after all. But we also have to recognise things that would be an instant deal-breaker if we were a would-be punter taking a test drive with a salesman sitting next to us, and this was one of those.

That apart, would we go for the 3008 or the C5 Aircross? Our instincts say the former, though we do prefer the Citroën’s superior practicality as a stuff-shifter – and we’re suckers for bold design, too, which is another strong tick in its box. We’re not convinced that its interior plastics will wear well, though – and we prefer the look of the Peugeot. But when it comes down to that, as we’ve said, you really are trying to separate the inseparable.

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SEPTEMBER 2022 | 35

02/08/2022 00:56

To the manner Berne This 1993 G-Wagen started life in service with the Swiss Army. Now demobbed, it has emigrated to the USA – where the team from Legacy Overland were waiting to remanufacture it as a world work piece of automotive art. And being a Mercedes, it took to its new life as if born to the task…

Words: Kaziyoshi Sasazaki Pictures: Legacy Overland

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T

his isn’t the first time we’ve featured a restified Mercedes G-Wagen in these pages. And it won’t be the last. And there’s every chance that one day, someone will look back on them all and note that on every single occasion, we made the same clichéd comment about rappers’ cars.

Here’s why. Every time any of us listen to Radio 1, we seem to hear another rapper banging on about his G. We’re fairly sure it’s not the same guy every time. And yes, thank you, we know there’s another kind of G that used to get rapped about a lot. Despite being old (or maybe because of it), to our ears there’s nothing like a bit of modern toss to remind you of how much better it was back in the old days, when hip-hop legends posed around in custom lowriders rather than just spending huge wads on showroom-spec status symbols.

Has there ever been a rap track called ‘Built not Bought?’ There ought to be.

If there was, maybe it would be by sort of the wordsmith whose talents could pay for a truck like the G-Wagen you see here. Built by Legacy Overland, it’s not the sort of brand new AMG tart-speccer that keeps cropping up in disposable hip-pop dross with no imagination; it’s a truck with vision, originality and the sort of style only a boutique build can achieve, and that puts it way beyond the scope of anyone whose vibe is that money has an instant answer to everything.

Not that you’d get your hands on this vehicle without having a hefty wad of money to spend.

It’s a top-notch resto-mod and those don’t come cheap. But if you know to go looking in the right places, you’ll know that spending it with someone like Legacy Overland marks you out as a punter who knows. A brand new G is still a thing with class – but the money that buys it can sometime come from places that have none. An individual work of automotive art, on the other hand… you’ve got to be working at a certain level to appreciate a truck like this.

You need to be working at a certain level to build one, too. Which is what Legacy Overland do.

With Land Rovers, Land Cruisers and G-Wagens alike – if it’s classic and a proper off-roader, these guys specialise in reimagining it. Not just on the surface, either – the company’s motto is ‘New Vintage Motors’ and that rings absolutely true when you see the depths of the engineering that go into its vehicles. Wood and leather can be used to hide sometime ugly – or to highlight something beautiful. And Legacy Overland, which is based in a part of Greenwich, Connecticut, that’s so leafy you’d never believe you were less than an hour from Times Square, builds vehicles that are very beautiful indeed.

It’s a beauty that runs deep. And this 1993 GE230, nicknamed Project Stuttgart, is beautiful in the way only a classic off-roader can be. Which is to say that if you can’t see why it’s so much cooler than just lobbing six figures at a main dealer, there’s no hope for you.

People who buy restified classics like this are probably quite well versed in the art of lobbing six figures at a main dealer too, of course. The difference is that Legacy Overland’s customers understand the finer things in life, not just the more expensive ones.

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And this is a very fine thing indeed. It started off in the Swiss Army, so you can safely assume that it was very well looked after indeed during the first part of its life but also that back then it was about as basic as a truck can be. Which of course made it perfect as a blank canvas for an imaginative rebuild.

Some of the classy touches on this vehicle are indeed right out of the top drawer. But before we get to those, let’s look at what went in to making it fit the mechanical bill. Legacy Overland makes ‘New Vintage Motors’, remember, not ‘All Fur Coat And No Knickers’ – and before its vehicles get anywhere near the trim shop, first the company’s engineers go to work on them.

Merc’s OM102.981 petrol engine remains beneath the bonnet, for example. This is a 2299cc four-pot with a 95.5mm bore and 80.25mm stroke, and when new it produced a quoted 123bhp – ‘when new’ being the operative phrase, because of course it’s just been completely rebuilt and if we were to lay a bet, it would be for the original figures to be right on the money.

Behind the engine, the original transmission (complete with automatic gearbox) has been overhauled. But it’s when you get to the axles that you start to find the modifications. For one thing, we’re fairly sure that the Swiss Army never used 275/55s and 20” AMG light alloys on its trucks; these are OEM spec for the modern G65, which at least gives the vehicle some sort of a visual link to those rap star cars. And for another, the suspension has been rebuilt using +2” coil springs.

Now you’re talking…

The power steering has been rebuilt too, along with all its linkages, and the whole lot was reassembled on a chassis that was stripped back, prepped and repainted. Not that there was too much required in this area, because while the floor did want some welding here and there

the vehicle’s structure was in a generally sound condition before work began. When the body’s turn came for a session in the spray booth, it was repainted in Scafell Grey – a Land Rover colour, for all you anoraks out there, or just ‘grey’ if you’re not one.

The body was finished off with integrated side steps, a Canadian-spec snorkel and a swing-away spare wheel mount complete with a Merc deepdish cover, as well as details including an exterior jerry can cradle, LED lights all round with guards to match and a choice of full and bikini-style soft-tops in three-ply black mohair. All very nice and classy but not in-your face and certainly in keeping with the G-Wagen’s background as a military truck.

Inside, on the other hand, it’s safe to say that the Swiss Army has never seen anything like this in active service. The cabin has been trimmed by hand in distressed leather from top-end New York specialist Garett, which covers the seats, dash, gear lever and handbrake shrouds, side panels and more. The seats feature diamond quilting,

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Some eye-opening before-and-after action here. The G-Wagen arrived with Legacy Overland as an old Swiss Army truck – still in its military uniform, which you may well approve of, but the state of it might not have turned you on quite as much. Either way, it was clearly ripe for restoration – which is of course what the company specialises in. Actually, ‘restoration’ barely scratches the surface of how completely its vehicles are remanufactured – its motto is ‘new vintage motors,’ and with it having been taken down to literally every single component and build back from scratch to OE standard or beyond, it’s every inch a heirloom truck

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While it wasn’t a fully fledged rot box by any means, the G-Wagen’s body underwent plenty of prep work to take it back then get it ready for painting. In effect, Legacy Overland’s builds are OE-style in that they start with a body in white – it’s just that the shade of white depends on what colour the vehicle was before it was born again

too, and down below the floor is trimmed in black carpets with a German square-weave pattern.

That’s just the beginning, though. The instrument cluster has been completely rebuilt, and between in and the driver sits a vintage Mercedes wooden steering wheel.

And if thought that was cool, check this out.

The knobs on top of the gearbox and transfer case shifters, as well as the handbrake lever, were hand-turned in olive wood. And in the back, the floor is fully boarded out in timber with a shimmering gloss polish to it.

There’s a pair of inward-facing benches here, which fold up when not in use. Beneath them are courtesy lamps, part of a fit-out which includes

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more of the same in the side panels and under the dashboard.

And that’s just the start of the extra electrical items inside the G-Wagen. It’s been completely rewired and now features USB ports, a reversing camera and a double-DIN Bluetooth stereo with six speakers, dual subs and a 1000W amp.

Most impressive of all, perhaps, the team from Legacy Overland designed and installed their own air-conditioning system which uses the vehicle’s own original vents and controls. You see a lot of innovative stuff going into big-budget builds like this, but that really is a new one on us…

Mainly, though, what makes this vehicle so very special is the incredible depth of the detailing

that’s gone into it. Or perhaps it’s not. Perhaps it’s the groundwork that was laid at the start of the project. Or perhaps it’s the fact that when you’re rebuilding such a supreme vehicle as this magnificent old Merc, you can hardly help but do a good job of it.

Either way, as Legacy Overland put it, ‘an exquisite nuts-and-bolts restoration like this demands an out-of-this-world interior to match. So we did that and then some.’ Not everything about it might be to your taste – but even the least imaginative of identikit pop stars would surely be able to understand that old though it might be, this is the sort of Merc it takes more than just deep pockets to create.

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Kicking up DUS5T

In the late 1990s, one of the most familiar sights on the off-road racing scene was DUS5T – a superbly presented Land Rover 90 whose supercharged 5.0-litre TVR V8 made it a match for the very best. By the time Total Off Road caught up with it, its identity had changed, and so had its engine – but it was still one of the tidiest comp trucks around Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: Phil Masters 40 | SEPTEMBER 2022

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD With Hugh Haines at the wheel, DUS5T finished seventh overall at the 1997 Southern Hillrally (left) and won Class G at the Scottish (below)

T

he 1995 ARC National was an event that very nearly didn’t happen, after the land on which it was going to run was withdrawn at the last minute. But thanks to the efforts of the Lincolnshire LRC, it went ahead more or less as planned – and, apart from the fact that the site was a little more spread out than normal, no-one seemed any the wiser.

Had it not happened, the public would have been denied their first glimpse of a Land Rover that went on to become one of the most famous sights on the off-road racing scene. Exhibited by the now-departed ADI Engineering, it was an open-top 90 with a 4.5-litre V8 engine and a number plate that stood out from the crowd: DUS5T. Originally a truck-cab, the 90 was fitted with a roll cage that looked the business but certainly wasn’t going to pass scrutineering for any sort of motorsport event. Even so, you could see where ADI was going with it – twin Bilsteins at each corner, four-pin diffs and cross-drilled discs, front and rear anti-roll bars and a four-speed ZF auto box… not the stuff of a standard 90, by any stretch, but just what you want for comp safari and Hillrally use.

No surprise, then, that DUS5T was to spend the next few years snapping at the heels of TMCs and Simmbugghinis in the British Off-Road and Hillrally championships. But by the time the vehicle reached the peak of its powers, just about the only thing you’d recognise was its number plate – because by the time Hugh Haines drove it to the highest placing ever achieved by a production vehicle in a hillrally, it was a white hard-top with some very different bits and pieces under its skin.

Chief among these was a supercharged 5.0-litre TVR engine, with twin exhausts venting just in front of the rear arches through exit pipes so wide you could get your fist in them. The drivetrain had been rebuilt, the brakes had been uprated, the cage was now very much to FIA spec – and with its spectacular chequered flag livery, DUS5T was the best looking Land Rover on the circuit. Not only that, it was the fastest.

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But supercharging an engine that’s already been opened out to more than 140% of the capacity with which it was originally designed is never the way to achieve long-lasting reliability, and service areas at events around the country were soon buzzing with talk of this Land Rover that moved faster than any other – for as long as it kept moving at all. Time passed, and so did the 90, through the hands of first Jonathan Smith and then Peter Brown – the former fitted it with a diesel engine, of all things, which was then replaced by a 4.6-litre V8 which propelled the latter around a few AWDC and Midland ORC safaris over a brief period of time. Then it came up for sale again, and started attracting the attention of Tony Walmsley.

At this point, Tony and his son Chris has been competing for about five years in a 3.5-litre Allard.

‘It was back in 2000,’ he remembers. ‘It was our second full Hillrally. The first season we had the car, we did the Clubmans Hillrally, and it bit us, we had to do more. We did 1997 and then had a couple of years off, and then we did 2000.

‘We were sat on one of the stages in Eppynt on the Saturday, and the rain was coming in horizontally. I looked down at my lap, and I watched it slowly filling up with a pool of water. And I said to Chris, “I’m getting too old for this. We’re going to have to get something with doors.”’

And Chris, who most certainly wasn’t getting too old for it, agreed.

When they first went to see the 90, the team knew it had some sort of pedigree. Even so, however, they were pleasantly surprised by what they found. ‘I don’t think we realised how well known it was, if truth be told. We knew of it, we’d been looking at it in magazines for a while, and to be honest when we went to have a look at it, once we started to see what the modifications were, we were quite impressed.’

One of the mods Tony wasn’t bothered about was that eye-catching number plate. The 90 was for sale with an £8500 price tag, or a rather steeper £10,500 if you wanted the right to keep on calling it DUS5T – suffice to say that among the things Tony had to do as part of the process was organise its transfer on to an age-related plate.

So now DUS5T was just an H-reg Land Rover – except, of course, that’s exactly what it was not. From the bottom to the top, this

remains a 90 that’s bristling with modifications.

Even its chassis, which is basically standard without any overt strengthening (but for the small matter of an FIA-spec roll cage), bears a belly plate which has saved the vehicle’s more vulnerable bits on many an occasion. Said chassis was replaced in 1998, after the original started getting tired of the constant abuse it had to take.

Sitting beneath that are a standard front axle case, containing a pegged four-pin diff and strengthened halfshafts, and a Wolf back axle with a pegged limited-slip diff and competition halfshafts by Quaife. Each rides on twin Bilstein shocks, attached to standard Land Rover top and bottom mounts, and boasts heavily modified brakes – cross-drilled discs at the back, while at the front are vented discs with Wilwood calipers.

These run a 70:30 front-to-back bias, to add more stopping power where the weight is: ‘It’s fairly new to us,’ says Tony, ‘and we’ve adjusted it a couple of times. But we’ve found this to be about right to suit our driving style.’

Ahead of it all is that 4.6-litre engine – not as hairily powerful as the old 5.0-litre TVR lump, but it’s proving significantly more reliable. And it’s no slouch, either, with a cross-bolted block and John Eales heads and cam. Getting fuel to it was proving to be a bit of a problem, however, with starvation setting in on particularly quick or sharp corners. The remedy was a half-litre swirl pot, fed by a low-pressure pump from the foam-filled tank and feeding the engine through a filter and high-pressure pump. The return from the engine also feeds the swirl pot, from which another return goes back to the tank, the idea being that whatever the situation, the pumps should always have access to fuel.

In its 5.0-litre days, the vehicle used to run a front-mounted radiator for the engine and another in the rear for its automatic gearbox. Tony, of course, inherited it with the latter still in place but not plumbed in, and what’ll happen to it is yet to be decided. ‘This year’s to get to know the vehicle, this winter’s to really think about what bits we do and don’t want on it. So we’ve left them in at

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

‘The rev limiter can be set all the way to 10,000. But I think we’d have a problem if we tried that…’

Above: Suspension is by twin Bilsteins all round. Wilwood calipers date from ADI days Below: interior says it all about what this vehicle was built to do

the moment, simply because they don’t add that much weight, and we may well fit a different box anyway. If not, they’ll come out. The other thing is that we might run the top of the heads to it, and use it to cool them.’

As it stands, the current radiator is a 200Tdi unit that so far seems to be up to the job. ‘The way we’ve got the front fans positioned, they force a lot of air through. Yes, front-mounted radiators do get clogged up on Hillrallies. But we had a rear-mounted radiator on the Allard, and we kept getting all sorts of cooling problems – we put one in the front in the end. We found, actually, that if you put a baffle for the mud to stick to, you can protect your radiator and the air can still get round, and to an extent we think we may be able to do that with this.’

Taking care of the engine’s output are a Discovery R380 box and 1:1.66 transfer case, the latter operated by separate high-low and diff-lock levers as it wasn’t possible to locate a single-function transfer lever on the vehicle’s enormous transmission tunnel. This is an indication of what it’s like inside the 90 – much of what’s shoe-horned into the cabin is a throwback from its 5.0-litre

days, and doesn’t do a lot anymore, but the overall effect is enormously impressive.

About all that’s the same as a standard 90 is the pressing lack of space inside the cabin.

The Sparco bucket seats and Sabelt four-point harnesses take up a fair bit of what there is, and between them are controls allowing the navigator to operate the washers and horn. ‘That’s a modification we’re going to make,’ says Tony. ‘We found in the Allard that if Chris has them on a remote on his lap, it’s much easier, and he’s less likely to hit the wrong button. Besides, at the moment they’re too close to the kill switch!’

Another change that’s going to be made reflects an obstacle on which a lot of first-time vehicle builders come a cropper. All too often, people design fantastic looking vehicles that are going to conquer the world… only to find that they’ve not left enough room for anyone to actually sit in them. You can sit in the 90 comfortably enough, of course – it wouldn’t have posted all those blistering stage times in the past without being able to accommodate a driver – but seating positions are very personal things, and Tony plans to move the driver’s seat at the end of the season,

Above left: The engine cover may say 3.9, but it’s actually a 4.6 under there. Prior to this, the vehicle was fitted with a diesel engine for a mercifully short spell. During the DUS5T era, it ran a supercharged 5.0-litre TVR lump which was every bit as staggeringly quick as it sounds. Before being turned into a comper, the 90 was built by ADI Engineering as a soft-top lifestyle wagon with a 4.5-litre V8 Above right: Fuel starvation was proving a problem in corners, so the engine is now fed via a system using a half-litre swirl pot. The rear-mounted radiator was fitted by a previous owner; having had a lot of problems with a similar set-up in a previous race motor, Tony was considering moving it back to the front when we took these pictures

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

as at present he’s not totally square-on to the steering wheel.

Said wheel is a 12-inch number, operating a quick-ratio box with two turns lock-to-lock. Nearby, right in the driver’s eye line, is a rev counter, something Tony added as he couldn’t see the old one. ‘The rev limiter is set to about 5800,’ he says, ‘and we do pull that at times. It can be set all the way to 10,000, but I think we’d have a problem if we tried that…’

Also helping him keep his eyes on the road are ancillary screenwash nozzles mounted on the

4x4 4pp DUS5T.indd 43

wings and fed from a tank in the back. This is the sort of modification you only really notice when you don’t have it – which is what happened in an early outing at Seven Sisters, when the pump went on strike.

Despite this, and a few other minor problems, Tony and Chris went on to finish second in class at the Seven Sisters event. Not a bad result at all for what was just their second comp in the vehicle, especially in a class that boasts some seriously talented motors.

Having jousted with giants in the Allard, which ran in the Prototype class, the team’s new vehicle means they’re now in the altogether saner, if still extremely quick, Modified Production category. ‘I looked around, and people like Simon Dowdeswell and Richard Hopkins were there with their Defender and Discovery, and it seemed to me that anybody could build a 90, and spec it out – okay, at cost – and compete. There’s just something about it…

‘I think recognised silhouettes are going to be the way for the future.

There’s still going to be a place for specialist vehicles, the likes of Trevor Milner and the Simmonites and Bowlers and Tomcats and so forth, but I like the idea of driving a vehicle with a recognised silhouette and getting it places that these vehicles can also get. And we’re getting competitive. Seven Sisters was a good result for us, and we’re getting quicker.’

Looking ahead, Tony and Chris aim to take stock at the end of the season and start getting the 90 they way they want it. Not that a great deal will change: ‘Basically, we’re just going to try and build on what we’ve got. We knew we were buying a vehicle of some pedigree, just from the specification, and it’s a proven vehicle. All we want to do now is take it from here and if we can improve it, improve it… and have some fun!’

Which means DUS5T is going to live on, in character if not in appearance. Having been valued at the sort of money many teams budget for an entire season’s racing, the 90’s identity is sure to crop up before long on another vehicle. It’ll keep on turning heads, no doubt… but without this enduringly familiar Land Rover attached, it’ll never be quite the same again.

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Grand Design

Original Suzuki Vitaras are getting to the age at which people are starting to use them off-road. The same can’t be said for the Grand Vitara, however – which is why Craig Langley’s is one of a kind Words: Tom Alderney Pictures: Phil Masters

I

’m a Suzuki man through and through,’ says Craig Langley. He’s not joking. Having bought his first SJ410, taken it on a couple of fun days and been bitten by the off-road bug, four years later he owned two heavily modified Samurais and had a Jimny for his wife.

Enough? Of course not. What you see on these pages is a 1998 Grand Vitara V6 LWB – the Lang-

leys’ erstwhile family car, which we photographed while it was in the process of being turned into Craig’s next plaything.

Back in 2002, the vast majority of the many Grand Vitaras you’d see going around had never even been so much as put into low box. But Craig started thinking about turning his V6 into a big boy’s toy pretty much as soon as its three-year factory warranty had expired.

‘I was looking for a nice, comfortable vehicle for long-distance off-roading,’ he told us. ‘I’d been thinking about possibly a Land Rover or Wrangler – but having read the magazines, there wasn’t much that

people hadn’t done to them. You know, there are so many people out there that have done every sort of trick possible.

‘So we decided that because the Vitara had been so reliable, and nobody had done one, we’d have a go at experimenting and doing one for off-roading.’

This desire to be different led Craig on a major hunt of the internet, as he searched for the necessary kit to build the mother of all Grand Vitaras.

‘We established that we could get some sort of suspension lift, and started from there. That was the basic premise – we needed a lifted car, because obviously the Grand Vitara has quite low ground clearance in normal trim.

Said suspension system, a 2.5-3” Calmini kit, was augmented by a 1.5” body lift built by Craig’s friend Shaun Briggs. Shaun’s been the man behind the majority of the mods on the vehicle, having also designed its rock sliders and front and rear winch bumpers, relocated its fuel tank and trimmed out its interior for serious action.

Shaun modified the Calmini kit as he worked, moving the radius arms back slightly and altering

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Above: Suzuki’s original V6 engine remains in standard trim but doesn’t think much of 265/70R16 tyres Right: Modified Calmini lift kit rides a little on the firm side, but that’s a small price to pay for the greater flexibility and ground clearance it delivers

the position of the rear shocks to get exactly what he wanted out of the components.

The results allowed Craig to run the vehicle on 265/70R16 rubber.

Does it feel underpowered with the larger tyres?

‘We’re thinking of down-gearing it, actually,’ says Craig. ‘We’ve lost a lot of the towing capability of the vehicle. Not so much in low ratio, obviously, but there’s quite a drop-off when you’re towing another vehicle. I think that’s down to the bigger tyres, and obviously the weight’s increased, too.’

One of the main reasons for the extra weight was a pair of Superwich X9s, one at each end.

Using the same model twice makes sense because, as Craig puts it, you’ve always got a ready spare. ‘If the front burned out, we could always take the one off the back and keep going forward.’

Shaun made the winch bumpers himself, in the case of the rear structure also having to use cheq-

uer plate to fill the chasm left when the enormous original bumper came off.

Being an auto-electrician by trade, Shaun wasn’t about to cut corners when it came to powering the winches. That’s why what was once the nearside rear passenger’s footwell became home to a pair of Optima dry-cell batteries, dedicated just to the winches but set up so that the main battery can also back them up if they start to flag.

Shaun’s not a fan of the split-charge systems often used to power winches. ‘You’re pulling 300 amps when you’re winching hard, and the biggest split-charge relay you can get is 80 amps, so something’s got to melt. It just isn’t worth split-charging for winching – the more capacity, the better.’

Further belt-and-braces modifications included body armour to the vehicle’s underside. Being used to Samurais, Craig was worried about

constantly grounding out the Grand Vitara, so once again Shaun was called upon to make up skid plates for the steering, sump and transfer box. These went with a new tank guard, and a rerouted exhaust, to make this a Grand Vitara which definitely wasn’t going to be leaving its components on terra firma without putting up a mighty struggle first.

Even if it did get hung up, a high-lift jack backed up those two winches to ensure the vehicle wouldn’t stay stranded for long. The jack was mounted on the rear door, making use of the spare wheel carrier – which in turn was left available when the spare was moved into the rear cabin. The reason for doing this is that with the chunkier back bumper, it was no longer going to fit in its original location – and with the Grand Vitara now only needing to seat three people, instead of the five Suzuki envisaged, there was a

Above left: A custom fabricated bumper provides a home for the front winch and allows a much improved approach angle Above right: Those vulnerable looking side steps are in fact indestructible rock sliders. The original spare wheel mount hosts high-lift jack; chequer plate fills the gap where the rear bumper once was

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD The huge spare wheel dominates the cargo bay, which has been lined out in chequer plate – as has the top of the fabricated rear winch bumper. The false floor where the nearside rear seat used to be is in fact a cover for a compartment in which two batteries are housed with the sole job of powering the winches

redundant belt mounting behind the passenger’s seat that could be turned into its new home.

As well as this, and those dual Optimas in the footwell below it, the entire load bay was chequer plated in readiness for Craig starts hitting the trails. When we took our pics, too, Shaun was also planning to fit an external rollcage to protect the vehicle’s bodywork among trees and protect its occupants should things go pear-shaped.

Further plans also included front and rear ARBs to replace the standard open diffs, as well as a snorkel – though this was waiting for the design of the roll cage to be finalised. ‘This is the first stage,’ Craig told us. ‘I’ve designed it so it won’t

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take much to step it up that extra bit. We’re going to use it a few times, see what needs to be done and either change or upgrade parts. It seems to be doing okay, to be honest.’

A much longer-term plan he told us about involved replacing the independent front suspension with a live axle… Now that really would be pioneering – though given the infamous ease with which Vitaras’ front diffs go ping (Craig’s let go halfway through our photoshoot, actually), it would be a belt-and-braced alterntive to the usual tactic of chucking a Samurai unit in there instead.

Conventional wisdom has it that if you’re going on an expedition, you should keep your vehicle

as standard as possible. But since when was a Grand Vitara with a live front axle conventional ‘It’s basically for adventure trips abroad,’ said Craig. ‘It’s not going to be used for anything extreme at the moment, but obviously in five or six years when it’s picked up a load of dents, it’ll go that way more and more. But initially it’s for adventures, going abroad and doing the Andalucian Trail, the Mille Rivières, that kind of thing.

‘When you finish a vehicle, that’s the best it’s ever going to look. Even if you don’t go silly, it’s going to get scratches from brambles. It’s the first dent that hurts. I won’t smile as I hit the tree. But I’ll accept it.’

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Blitz and pieces At a time when the Suzuki SJ was still a very common sight but more and more of them were suffering terminal body rust, the NCF Blitz looked like a perfect way to keep an old one alive. It’s a surprise that the eternally innovative kit car company didn’t sell more of them during its time Words: Olly Sack Pictures: Phil Masters

O

ld Suzukis never die. They just rust in peace. As everyone who’s into off-roading knows, the SJ is an awesomely capable little vehicle – but one which suffers badly from body rot as the years turn into decades.

At chassis level, however, the SJ is virtually indestructible. And that what first attracted Nick Findeisen, whose company NCF Motors had been ploughing its own furrow in the custom car market since 1984, to start looking at the legendary 4x4 as a donor vehicle for future models.

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The first Blitz off-roader was based on the Fiat 126, of all things. But with the advent of the SJ-derived version, NCF raised the game. Suddenly, the Blitz was more than just a funky little toy – now it was a serious off-roader with real potential for extreme fun and even competitive use.

The man behind the vehicle in these pictures is Dave Sturmey, who when he built it was NCF’s representative in the South, Midlands and Wales.

What attracted him to the kit in the first place, he told us, was the fact that you don’t need a degree in quantum physics to build it.

‘The main focus is to ensure that it’s a very simple conversion,’ he said, ‘utilising as many parts as possible off the donor vehicle and minimising any additional purchases. That’s one of the things we liked about it, and why we took it on.’

The Blitz design, of which NCF sold around 50 during its lifetime, used a standard SWB chassis from a 1985-on vehicle. This didn’t need to be modified at all – you just unbolted the old panels and replaced them with the Blitz body, which went straight on to the same mounting points. Of course, removing the old body tended to be easier

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

NCF revised the Blitz’s cage design just before this example was built, running it down to the chassis – which gave the vehicle a new level of potential for competitive use. The wheels, tyres and snorkel seen here were among a set of options offered by southern agent Blitz Midlands, whose demo car this was said than done, given the extent to which these panels liked to rust, but once you’d freed off the bolts you were already on the home straight.

There are several advantages that come from taking such a simple approach to changing a vehicle’s character. One, obviously, is that it’s quick and easy to do. Another is that because it’s just a body swap, Blitz builders didn’t need to mess around with Single Vehicle Approval – just change ‘three-door estate’ to ‘off-road utility’ on the vehicle’s V5, and all the paperwork is taken care of.

But there’s a more subtle advantage, too. If you were running around in a rusty old SJ, and that’s how it was going to stay, you’d be unlikely to embark on a chassis-up overhaul. Yet that’s exactly what changing it into a Blitz encouraged people to do – because with the body coming off, you’d never get a better chance to inspect the chassis, sort out any surface rust and do whatever was necessary on ancillaries like the pedals, brake lines, wiring loom and steering column.

These all needed to be removed before the Blitz body was fitted in place, after which they’d just go back where they came from. ‘It’s been designed so it’s as simple as possible,’ said Dave. ‘Anybody with basic mechanical knowledge can do it.’

One thing you didn’t have to touch was the drivetrain, which remained almost completely standard. All Dave did to the 1.3-litre engine on this one was add a Weber carb conversion kit and make up a snorkel from some tubing and a K&N Vauxhall Corsa air filter.

The main part of the Blitz body was a one-piece tub made from 48mm MSA-approved blue rolled steel tubing, with the floorpan and bulkhead built in. Customers also got two side panels, a one-piece bonnet and a detachable front end.

The latter section is mounted by six bolts, two on each side and two at the front on the chassis itself, which means it can be removed in minutes for easy access ‘should you ever decide to do any engine upgrades.’ Or just when you pull into service at a comp safari.

Think we’re joking? NCF modified the cage prior to this example being built, running its supports all the way down to the chassis so it would meet

4x4 2pp NCF Blitz.indd 51

with MSA approval for speed events. Dave’s was only bolted in place, whereas for competitive use you’d have to weld it on, but all the metalwork was there to let customers make this happen.

What didn’t the kit include? Aside from a donor vehicle, customers needed to source a pair of lorry wings (which were cut in two to make a set of wheelarches), a windscreen and wiper and a set of headlamps. When it came to lighting, that was all you needed to buy in – every other light on the donor vehicle was retained on the Blitz.

There was also a list of optional accessories available, including custom-made Cobra buckets and Willans four-point harnesses (for which the mounting points were already in place), as well as 31x10.50R15 tyres and eight-spoke rims, a rear-mounted spare wheel carrier, a windscreen flange and, would you believe, a heater.

You might have expected non-standard springs to be on the list too, given that the Blitz body is about 200kg lighter than standard, but Dave told us he had found the effect to be negligible.

‘People always think it’s had a lift kit as it stands,’ he said, ‘purely because of where the wheelarches sit on it. But it’s totally standard ride height, just as it was taken from the donor vehicle. In my experience, there’s very little difference in the way it drives. It’s not as pitchy as the standard SJ; I don’t

know whether that’s to do with the tyres being a bit more cushioned.’

We had a test drive while these pictures were being taken and found that while the Blitz was able to compress its suspension, it could perhaps have done with lower spring rates and less enthusiastic damping. There was enough flexibility there to let it get over extreme obstacles, but it felt as if it would give its best at higher speeds.

For trialling, the soggiest springs you could find would be in order, along with a set of knackered long-travel shocks.

And what about for winch challenges? Back then, we concluded that with the right set-up, Blitz would be a very promising prospect indeed for extreme use. With its incredibly sharp approach and departure angles, along with integral box-section rock sliders instead of vulnerable sills, you’d have to be trying very hard indeed to get it hooked up and harder still to do any actual damage.

Would it become as common a sight at 4x4 events as the standard SJ, we wondered. Unlikely, we said, and in this we clearly weren’t wrong – but at a time when the amount of Suzukis battling terminal body rust was reaching bloodbath proportions, it’s perhaps a surprise that more people didn’t spring for the £1200 NCF was after for the entire kit.

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

French Fancy

When your off-road race truck has finally hit peak perfection and turned you into a champion, your first instinct might not be to get rid of it. But having taken his class title in the French Tout Terrain championship, Dave Fletcher knew it was time for his Range Rover to give way to something altogether less British Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: Phil Masters

W

hen the vehicle you’ve built has just carried you to a class win in one of the world’s most fiercely contested off-road racing series, your immediate reaction might not be to start driving something else instead. But that’s exactly what Hampshire’s Dave Fletcher did when he bought a new vehicle to replace his victorious Range Rover.

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Bizarre behaviour? Not at all. Because while the Range Rover still had plenty of racing left in it, his new machine was right off the top shelf when it comes to off-road racing technology – and its custom-built French background made it the ideal vehicle in which to mount a credible assault on its home country’s Tout Terrain championship.

A part of a dedicated group of British racers whose comping ambitions had crossed the Chan-

nel, Dave and his navigator Marcus Healey regularly locked horns with a Frenchman by the name of Joel Clevenot, who from 1999 had been the owner of a long-wheelbase Fouquet Mk III. Styled very vaguely around the appearance of a Citroën Xantia and intended specifically for endurance racing, this version of the Fouquet was designed around the need for a high-capacity fuel tank. As such, it carried more weight than would normally

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

be necessary for the comparatively short events featured in the Tout Terrain series – but its size made it the perfect vehicle for Dave and Marcus.

Why? For the very simple reason that they’re both extremely tall, meaning a standard racer would have been intolerably uncomfortable – and an uncomfortable crew is never a fast one.

In order to accommodate them, the vehicle was fitted with a new standard-sized fuel tank,

4x4 4pp Fouquet.indd 55

creaating room for its seats to be moved far enough back to let them fit – a modification which also involved its floor being dropped by around 50mm. The seats in question were outsize units, custom-built for the team by Motordrive in a glassfibre Kevlar composite, and they were augmented with Willans harnesses featuring three-inch belts and six-point fixings.

Fitted about nine inches further back and six

inches lower than the standard seats they replaced, they hit the nail on the head.

‘We’ve both been relatively uncomfortable in previous seats,’ said Dave, ‘and we can’t get over the transformation. The ride in the Fouquet is very good, and the seats aren’t quite as critical. But in the Range Rover, it meant the difference between being able to carry speed over bumps or having to back off because it was hurting too much.’

So far, apart from a change of colour and the addition of a rakish looking spoiler for purely cosmetic reasons, that’s about all in the way of changes that have been wrought to the vehicle in the hands of its new owners. When you’ve bought a vehicle with this pedigree, you don’t need to spend time re-inventing the wheel.

Fouquet, the company behind the eponymous vehicle, is a father-and-son outfit based in a small village near Bordeaux. Its cars are based on a full spaceframe carrying an all-independent suspension set-up and rear-mounted engine, the classic design for ultimate high-speed performance. Fouquet makes the frames itself, along with the cars’ wishbones and trailing arms, leaving individual vehicle builders to put together their own choice of drivetrain components.

In Joel Clevenot’s case, this meant a 3.0-litre Peugeot V6, as used in the Pininfarina-styled 406 Coupe. The 24-valve engine is famous for producing lots of power but not much torque, so this one has modified heads, cams and management, as well as an individual throttle body for each cylinder rather than the original plenum chamber. These mods, put in place by France’s engine-building guru Vincent Foucart (he of the F1 McLaren-engined off-road racer), give it between 285 and 290bhp – all of which is delivered smoothly from within the guts of the rev band.

An unusual transmission set-up sees the mid-mounted engine driving a six-speed gearbox mounted within the front axle. This is in fact an integral unit also containing the front diff and transfer case – meaning drive to the rear diff is fed all the way up the length of the car from its engine, then all the way back again. It sounds inefficient, but this design makes for excellent weight distribution and is far lighter than using separate components.

From the diffs, both of which are limited-slip, power is sent to all four wheels via BMW inner

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 55

01/08/2022 23:25

2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Above: The cabin is simply gorgeous in its fitness-for-purpose Below: Spaceframe and suspension components are made by Fouquet; builders choose their own drivetrain

and Peugeot outer CV joints. Braking is by Peugeot 504 discs all-round, with 205 GTi calipers on the front and, to provide a proper cable-operated handbrake, Citroën BX units on the rear. ‘Joel built the car picking the bits that he wanted to use,’ says Dave. ‘So many people stick with all the parts off one car, which isn’t necessarily the best, whereas Joel’s picked the ultimate from every car and put it together.’

The same is true elsewhere in the vehicle – its steering rack and front uprights are from a Citroën C35, while the cooling system is based on a rear-mounted radiator and fans from a Renault Master. But when it comes to the suspension, which is of course one of the most critical parts of any off-roader, it’s specialist all the way.

Here, Fouquet’s front wishbones and rear trailing arms are operated by bespoke Öhlins units, one at each corner at the front and two apiece aft.

Springs and remote-reservoir shocks were built to exactly the specification the vehicle required: ‘When he built it, all Joel did was ring Öhlins up and say “I want shock absorber and suspension units for this car.” They contacted Fouquet, did all the design and supplied them – all he had to do then was bolt them on.’ The units provide no less than 27 clicks of bump adjustment and 51 of rebound: ‘setting them up, I understand, is quite a black art.’

56 | SEPTEMBER 2022

4pp Fouquet.indd 56

Perhaps not surprisingly, with so much opportunity to get it exactly right, there’s also a lot of potential for getting it wrong. And Dave confesses that when he first drove the Fouquet, he couldn’t get on with it. ‘I’m sure that once you know the car, the way they were set is very good, but for me it was too nervous. So I spoke to Fabrice Rivet in France, and he came and reset them for me. It’s a lot easier to drive now, though it’s more wallowy than it was before – I would like to stiffen it up very slightly, but on the whole it’s easier to learn.

And I’ve got a big learning curve to go through, having driven live-axle vehicles before.’

To hear a reigning class champion talking about being on a learning curve seems peculiar, but experiencing the two vehicles at speed makes it clear just how very different they are. The Range Rover is armed with a 5.0-litre TVR engine prepared by John Eales and putting out well over 300bhp, as well as a whole host of choice components – yet it still feels like a blunt instrument in comparison to the Fouquet. Anti-roll bars and comp-spec damping notwithstanding, it’s nervous over rough ground and ponderous through corners – this is still an immensely talented off-road racer, but the two cars are simply not in the same league.

Strapped into the Fouquet, you’re almost sitting on the ground. The view’s nothing like as good as

you get from up in the Range Rover, but it passes a lot more quickly. Blat-blatting through the gears, it leaps forward in eager response to every prod of the throttle, power snapping instantly forth from the snarling V6. There’s no flapping from the suspension, no time spent waiting for the engine to drag itself up on the cam, just a relentless wall of forward urge. Our test drive probably only reached about three-quarters of race speed, but the power available from anywhere in the engine’s rev band is remarkable – and despite some evidence of a tendency to resist turning in at high speed over loose ground, which suggested further adjustments to the suspension would indeed be necessary to get the best out of the car, the Fouquet can take corners at the sort of pace that would have a ‘traditional’ off-road racer on its roof at the slightest sniff of a rut.

With such a shattering turn of speed, the Fouquet is more at home with the fast, open terrain of French events than the extremely heavy going you tend to find in Britain. That’s why you won’t see it in action over here – unless, Dave told us, an event like the Salisbury Plain incarnation of the old Southern Hillrally were to crop back up.

But there’s a reason why that group of Brits keep going back to France for their racing – and when you see this vehicle, you can see why they would want to go there for their cars, too.

4x4 01/08/2022 23:26

2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

Above: Engine builder Vincent Foucart is an absolute legend in Tour-Terrain circles.

He took this Peugeot 3.0-litre V6 and fitted it with modified heads and cams, altered its management settings and replaced its plenum chamber arrangement with an individual throttle body for each cylinder, the result being 285-290bhp – which is delivered smoothly and from deep down in the rev range, with plenty of torque to back it up Left: Öhlins suspension units were custom-built for this vehicle

4x4 4pp Fouquet.indd 57

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 53

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2002-2022: TWENTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE OF TOTAL OFF ROAD

A kick up the Arras Fifty vehicles stuck on a green lane? Part and parcel of an old-school French randonnée. But when all the bumping causes the crate of beer in the back of your Jeep to start exploding, that’s when you know you’re really in trouble…

Words and pictures: Alan Kidd

W

e’re stuck. The lane’s so narrow, no-one can get round us. All there is to do is reverse. But we can’t do that, either. There’s a convoy of fifty vehicles behind us. And none of the first three motors on the road have a winch.

Yes, this is definitely going to be a tough one.

Alongside giants like the Mille Rivières and Croisière Blanche, the Triangle Vert is not the best known of France’s many randonnées. But

it attracts more British entries than any other. A one-day event that’s usually held around Easter time, it offers a mixture of wide open farm tracks, rutted lanes and the occasional sea of mud – and what attracts so many entries from across the Channel is that unlike many of France’s more famous randonnées, it’s held within a stone’s throw of Calais.

The 2002 event was in fact a little further afield than usual, being based in the town of

Béthune (look on a map and you’ll see that in the greater scheme of things, it’s still not far from Calais). The organising Hors Macadam Club says it’s started having to limit numbers in order to avoid arousing the wrath of local ‘antis’ – a sign, perhaps, that these events, which have at times provided some spectacularly chaotic scenes, are going to have to start becoming a lot more disciplined in future.

Not that that was very apparent as the gaggle of 4x4s waited for us four hapless Brits at the head of the convoy to get our act together. Two standard Discoverys, a Cherokee and a winchedup 90 on big mud tyres… and which one do you think we chose to lead the way?

So here we are in our Cherokee, third in line with the 90 behind us, finally the Discoverys have got through and now it’s our turn. We’re on BFG

The competitive element of events like the Triangle Vert comes from spotting code boards and stopping off at various landmarks along the way to answer what the organisers call ‘touristic’ questions.

It’s not unknown for people to ignore this completely and just treat it as the mother of all lane runs

4x4 2pp Triangle Vert 2002.indd 58

01/08/2022 23:49

Mud-Terrains, which is always a good thing, but we’ve looked at the ground and what’s causing the problem is a set of deep ruts. And with our independent front end…

Oh well, nothing for it but to try. Grab fourwheel drive, lock the centre diff, low box and give it death… Hold on, it’s an auto, would high box be better? High box, and give it death. Or should we try and spin our way through? What the hell, just give it death anyway and let’s see what happens.

Look at that, we’re stuck.

Discovery number two yanks us off our perch, muddy ropes get tossed in the back of previously tidy vehicles, the 90 walks through the ruts as if they weren’t there and we’re away.

As it happens, this was about the only really dodgy part of this year’s route. The 2001 event had been a breeze, and we reached the finish so early there was no-one there from the club to book us in, but we knew from experiences of previous Triangles Verts that winches, snatch blocks and kinetic ropes could all end up being pressed into action to get the vehicles, some of them very well prepped, through some mighty great fields of mud.

Some of those vehicles were ours, too. Kit Kaberry, he of stuck Discovery number one, used to campaign a 200Tdi 90 with a winch, a Drew Bowler cage and an ARB in the rear, before moving on to the Heritage 90 that made way for his current chariot. That ARB came in handy many a time – as well as saving our collective bacon on the 1998 event, when between us we suffered four slow punctures in the space of a hundred yards.

We made it home on what we had left, stopping every few miles to reinflate our flagging rubber with the air line from the ARB’s compressor.

Justin Thomas’ greatest moment, meanwhile, came when he took part at the helm of a Camel Trophy Discovery belonging to his employer, main dealer Testers Land Rover, which suffered more mechanical traumas during one day in France than it had on the Trophy itself. And he was in the navigator’s seat of stuck Discovery number two.

Last, and probably least, the bloke from this here magazine in the stuck Cherokee took part several times in another 90, best remembered for usually having at least one spotlight missing from on top of its roll cage, before campaigning a hybrid borrowed from Gumtree 4x4 which stopped for nothing and sported a set of Bronco tyres that made little girls cry.

The Cherokee (an early KJ model) looked more demure than the tank-like XJ that came before it, and this was our first time in one. As it turned out, it was still a very capable motor – a touch more prone to grounding out at the front, as we

4x4 2pp Triangle Vert 2002.indd 59

discovered, but every bit as agile. And whereas the XJ was on leaves at the back, the KJ graduated to coils, meaning less in the way of ludicrous wheels-up antics on uneven ground.

Was that a good thing? Not if you’re a congenital show-off, but I’ll try and see past that.

And anyway, I digress. Our Cherokee took to the Triangle Vert like a duck to water. In fact, the only real drama came when a crate of duty-free beer took umbrage at the rough terrain and started exploding in the back.

Our navigator had a solution to this, though. He drank it.

All of which begs the question, is this kind of off-roading more fun in a vehicle that can do it at a canter, or one that’ll make you work to get through? Well, we had a ball on previous events, and we had a ball this time, too. Maybe we weren’t quite so gung-ho, in deference to our altogether daintier vehicles, and this to me is the nub of it.

What you want to get out of your off-roading is down to personal preference – but in my view the main thing is not to worry so much about whether you’ll get stuck, but to be comfortable with the

idea of your 4x4 sustaining a few scratches. The big problem in a shiny new vehicle is that every time it grounds out, or some overhanging vegetation reaches out and makes a grab for its paintwork, you cringe; and for me, to spend the whole day trying to avoid that takes the fun out of it.

Not that the Triangle Vert is a damaging event as such; neither the Cherokee nor the Discoverys suffered any woes, save from the sort we could get rid of with a bit of T-Cut. But we did get superbly muddy – and one of the most enjoyable parts of a gig like this is the drive back home, the looks you get in the queue for your Channel crossing, the feeling of parking outside your house and climbing out of a 4x4 that looks like it’s really seen some action.

In our case, you can add to that the extremely surreal experience of pulling in to a petrol station in Folkestone, turning round after paying the cashier – and finding myself face to face with none other than Vic Reeves.

He was wearing a waistcoat. I was wearing several pounds of mud. Bet I looked cooler.

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 59

01/08/2022 23:49

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JANUARY 2021 | 73

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APB_FP.indd 1 60 Ford Siberia.indd

06/04/2022 07/04/2022 17:22 14:17

ROADBOOK

SOUTH SHROPSHIRE

Dramatic hills and deep dales amid a landscape shaped by agriculture

Insurance for your 4X4 Call 0800 085 5000 or visit adrianflux.co.uk 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 62

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01/08/2022 23:15

ROADBOOK To many 4x4 drivers, Shropshire is somewhere you travel through on the way to Wales. But the south-west of the county is a great destination in itself, with a variety of tight, tricky lanes and soaring hilltop trails with views that seem to go on forever. By and large, the going is easy enough to make it suitable for soft-roaders, though it’s interesting enough even in a modified truck like our Isuzu D-Max. In particular, the number of spectacularly long and potentially deep fords you’ll come across on this route is extraordinary

USING OUR ROADBOOKS Pictured is our Isuzu D-Max GO2. The vehicle is insured by Adrian Flux Insurance Services, which specialises in cover for modified 4x4s.

Many of our project trucks have been given their five-star service over the years as they are one of very few insurance companies that can cover our 4x4s when we’re off-roading and green laning – and at an affordable price too.

Get a quote by calling them on 0800 085 5000.

Our roadbooks guide you through the countryside on a mixture of surfaced and unsurfaced roads.

The tracks we use are public rights of way, either Byways Open to All Traffic or Unclassified County Roads, all commonly referred to as green lanes.

NAVIGATION

We’ve deliberately made it as easy as possible to follow the route, using a mixture of instructions, tulip diagrams and grid references. We normally only include junctions at which you have to make a turning or don’t have right of way, so stay on the main road or continue straight ahead unless we tell you otherwise.

You’ll find a guide to using grid references on the legend of any OS map. Our aim is for you to be able to do the route without maps, whether paper or online, but you should certainly take a set with you.

SAFETY

The notes on thee pages advise you of how suitable the route is for your vehicle. These are just guidelines, however. We’ll warn you of any hazards or difficult sections, but the nature of any green lane can change quickly. Wet weather can make a huge difference to the conditions underfoot, and what’s wide open in winter can be tightly enclosed and scratchy in summer.

The responsibility is yours!

Our roadbooks are designed to be safe to drive in a solo vehicle. We do recommend travelling in tandem wherever possible, however. The risk of getting stuck can be greater than it appears – and even the most capable of vehicles can break down miles from anywhere.

RESPONSIBILITY

Irresponsible driving is a big issue on green lanes. In particular, you must always stay on the right of way. Never drive off it to ‘play’ on the verges or surrounding land, even if you can see that someone else has; doing so is illegal and can be tremendously damaging.

This kind of illegal off-roading is a key reason why green lanes get closed. If you see others doing this, they are NOT your friends. They’re criminals, and you are their victim.

If it’s safe to do so, film them in the act and pass it to the police.

4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 63

Elsewhere, let common sense and courtesy prevail. Keep your speed down, be ready to pull over for others and show the world that we are decent people just like them.

ANTIS

Anti-4x4 bigotry does exist, but it’s less common than you’d think. By and large, it’s limited to organisations who just want to get the countryside all to themselves.

These organisations are beyond being reasoned with, but it’s rare to encounter real hostility even from their rank-and-file members. If you’re friendly towards the people with whom you share the countryside, the vast majority will respond in kind. There are always bad apples, but no more so than anywhere else.

Likewise, most local residents will accept your presence if you’re driving sensibly. What suspicion you do encounter is likely to be from farmers worried that you’re there to steal from them, so be ready to offer a word of reassurance. Once satisfied that you’re not after their quad bikes, their mood will lighten.

DO…

• Keep your speed right down • Pull over to let walkers, bikers and horse riders pass

• Leave gates as you found them • Scrupulously obey all closure and voluntary restraint notices

• Ensure you have a right to be

there. We research the routes on our roadbooks very carefully, but the status of any route can change without notice Be prepared to turn back if the route is blocked, even illegally If you find an illegal obstruction, notify the local authority Stick absolutely scrupulously to the right of way Always remember that you are an ambassador for all 4x4 drivers

• • • •

DON’T…

• Go in large convoys: instead, split into smaller groups

• Drop litter. Why not carry a bin bag pick up other people’s instead?

• Go back to drive the fun bits, such as mud or fords, again

• Cause a noise nuisance, particularly after dark

• Get riled up if someone challenges you. Be firm but polite, stay calm and don’t let them turn it into a fight

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ROUTE GUIDE

is it suitable?

START FINISH HOW LONG? TERRAIN HAZARDS

TYRES

OS MAPS

Longden Common (SJ 438 044) Bouldon (SO 543 851) 42.85 miles / 5-6 hours Hilly farmland Steep hills; one dicey drop-off; potentially very deep fords; tight woodland; other users; farm traffic; hazardous road junctions; fast traffic on some roads Landranger 126 (Shresbury & Oswestry) Landranger 137 (Church Stretton & Ludlow)

Step

1

SJ 438 044

Start outside the Red Lion in Longden Common. Zero your trip with the pub to your left and set off heading south-west

0.0 Step

2

WEATHER LOW BOX SOFT-ROADERS SCRATCHING DRIVING DAMAGE

Step

3

Broadly suitable for road tyres, but not ideal for low-profile sizes Avoid in fog; fords may be dangerous after prolonged rain Ideal, but not essential Decent ones should cope Inevitable in a few places Some rough ground and steep hills; lots of fords to tackle Shouldn’t need to happen

SJ 429 028

1.3 Immediately after the road on the right for Wrentnall, turn left into Church Pulverbatch. You only see the road at the last minute. Note the wooden sign requesting you to drive slowly

0.8

Step

4

You’ve already started descending, but as you push ahead into thicker undergrowth it starts getting steep

1.6

Step 1: The Red Lion is not hard to find in Longden Common, as it’s more or less the only thing there Step 4 (right): The descent is deceptive – it gets steeper the longer it goes on

64 | SEPTEMBER 2022

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4x4 01/08/2022 23:16

Step

5

It gets a little rutted at the bottom of the hill just before the ford

Step 11: As soon as you join this track, there’s a big drop-off to the right. The ruts should hold you in, but approach with caution

1.65 Step

6

1.9 Step

Step

11

7

2.5 Step

8

Pulverbatch Shrewsbury

Immediately after the Pulverbatch sign, turn left in front of the White Horse Inn

2.7 Step

9

10 3.15

4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 65

4.3 Step

12 4.95

SJ 424 023

This is almost immediately after Step 8

2.75 Step

Turn right on the road them immediately left through the gate on to the track. Caution here – there’s a big drop-off to the right which could be very dodgy in wet conditions

Step

13 3.0

The road has been getting scruffier for a while, but now it becomes properly unsurfaced. Note the home-made sign by the field gate trying to tell you there’s no right of way… well, the track ahead certainly is

Step

14

SO 383 988

The have been various other tracks on the left before this, but the correct one is very distinctive – it’s big, wide and on a corner

6.45

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Step 20: The track is firmly surfaced, but don’t let your speed build up – it’s quite steep and gets pretty uneven in places

Step

15

Follow the main track ahead through the gate

Step

19

7.35

9.35

Step

Step

7.8

9.5

Step

Step

8.15

9.6

16

20

17 Step

18 8.95

21 This is just after the farm buildings on the left – ignore the turning in front of them

Thresholds Picklescott

Step 23: The route through the farm is a bit confusing, but you get a good view of it an advance as you drop down the hill

Step

22

SO 408 986

Don’t turn too early – there’s a couple of field entrances immediately before it, but you’re looking for a well defined track with an ‘unsuitable for motor vehicles’ sign

Don’t let the firm surface lull you into going too fast – it gets quite uneven and, as you drop down towards the fishing ponds, steep

After the gate, follow the main track up the hill with the fence to your left. Ignore the sets of tyre marks going up the hill to your right

Prepare yourself for a long, steep descent

9.9 Step

23

After the battered old gate, track track drops down to the left and follows through the farm – it’s almost like a small village, but you can clearly see the route through it as you approach

10.1 Step

24 10.2 66 | SEPTEMBER 2022

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4x4 01/08/2022 23:16

Step 28 (left): After crossing a small ford, the first part of the climb is sharply uneven Step 32 (right): This turning is very hard to spot in advance.

Your best bet is to look out for vehicles in the car park opposite

Step

25

ZERO TRIP

10.4 Step

26

Step

29 1.7

SO 403 968

You’ll see a sign saying Yew Tree Cottage as you turn. Keep your speed down after this and watch out for horses

Step

30

0.95

2.4

Step

27

Step

1.05

3.25

Step

28 1.1

4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 67

Turn left at the ‘Bridges’ pub sign

31 This is only a small ford, but it could get lively after a lot of rain.

There’s a steep and in places uneven climb after it

Step

32

Belmore Church Stretton

SO 420 953

The turning is over your shoulder; it’s quite tight and hard to spot until you’re almost on it. The best landmark is likely to be cars in the car park opposite the turning

4.9

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Step 39: Turn right into the car park at the end of the plantation, then look for a track heading out of its far left corner

Step

Step

33

36

6.8 Step

34

Medlicott

After the gate, the road turns into something vaguely resembling tarmac

35 7.6

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15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 68

8.0 Step

37

Caution as you cross another track – assume there’ll be mountain bikes flying across your path at breakneck speed

8.75

6.95 Step

After the house on the right, the ‘road’ finally accepts its fate and turns into a track

SO 401 945

This is at the ‘Medlicott’ sign – it’s signed as a no through road. It’s barely a road at all and continues to deteriorate the further you go

Step

38

ZERO TRIP

9.0

4x4 01/08/2022 23:16

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Professional type torch with on/off control Thermal overload protection Turbo fan cooled Easy conversion to gas with optional accessories MIG102NG

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Min-Max model Amps exc.VAT PRO90 24-90 £229.98 135TE Turbo 30-130 £269.98 151TE Turbo 30-150 £309.00 175TECM Turbo 30-170 £489.00 205TE Turbo 30-185 £519.00

135TE WAS NOW inc.VAT inc.VAT £275.98 £323.98 £370.80 £610.80 £586.80 £646.80 £622.80

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exc.VAT £239.00 £289.00 £319.00 £569.00

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inc.VAT £238.80 £274.80 £310.80 £442.80 £477.60

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exc.VAT £84.99 £99.98 £189.98 £239.00 £298.00 £299.00 £739.00

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Range of precision bench & floor presses for enthusiast, engineering & industrial applications B = Bench FROM ONLY mounted £ DOUBLE .99 F = Floor CDP102B DOUBLE 84 EXC.VAT FOOTER £101.99 inc.VAT standing inc.VAT £101.99 £119.98 £227.98 £286.80 £357.60 £358.80 £886.80

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BAR 145 145 150

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26

569

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Tank exc.VAT 24ltr £119.98 50ltr £189.98 50ltr £249.00 100ltr £319.00

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CW1D exc.VAT inc.VAT £56.99 £68.39 £139.98 £167.98 £189.00 £226.80 £209.00 £250.80

CTC150LI .99 ONLY 12V CORDLESS £FROM DOUBLE 45 EXC.VAT DOUBLE FOOTER £55.19 inc.VAT INFLATOR CTC150LI

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5" Extension bar 1/2" - 3/8" .99 FROM ONLY adaptor £27 DOUBLE EXC.VAT DOUBLE 28-210 £33.59 FOOTER inc.VAT Nm CHT141

EXETER 16 Trusham Rd. EX2 8QG 01392 256 744 GATESHEAD 50 Lobley Hill Rd. NE8 4YJ 0191 493 2520 GLASGOW 280 Gt Western Rd. G4 9EJ 0141 332 9231 GLOUCESTER 221A Barton St. GL1 4HY 01452 417 948 GRIMSBY ELLIS WAY, DN32 9BD 01472 354435 HULL 8-10 Holderness Rd. HU9 1EG 01482 223161 ILFORD 746-748 Eastern Ave. IG2 7HU 0208 518 4286 IPSWICH Unit 1 Ipswich Trade Centre, Commercial Road 01473 221253 LEEDS 227-229 Kirkstall Rd. LS4 2AS 0113 231 0400 LEICESTER 69 Melton Rd. LE4 6PN 0116 261 0688 LINCOLN Unit 5. The Pelham Centre. LN5 8HG 01522 543 036 LIVERPOOL 80-88 London Rd. L3 5NF 0151 709 4484 LONDON CATFORD 289/291 Southend Lane SE6 3RS 0208 695 5684 LONDON 6 Kendal Parade, Edmonton N18 020 8803 0861 LONDON 503-507 Lea Bridge Rd. Leyton, E10 020 8558 8284 LUTON Unit 1, 326 Dunstable Rd, Luton LU4 8JS 01582 728 063 MAIDSTONE 57 Upper Stone St. ME15 6HE 01622 769 572 MANCHESTER ALTRINCHAM 71 Manchester Rd. Altrincham 0161 9412 666 MANCHESTER CENTRAL 209 Bury New Road M8 8DU 0161 241 1851 MANCHESTER OPENSHAW Unit 5, Tower Mill, Ashton Old Rd 0161 223 8376 MANSFIELD 169 Chesterfield Rd. South 01623 622160 MIDDLESBROUGH Mandale Triangle, Thornaby 01642 677881

inc.VAT £143.98 £227.98 £298.80 £382.80

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32212

CFM 7 9.3 14.5 14.5

£ DOUBLE .99

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10

DOUBLE EXC.VAT GUARANTEE DOUBLE FOOTER £32.39 inc.VAT

V

BARNSLEY Pontefract Rd, Barnsley, S71 1EZ 01226 732297 B’HAM GREAT BARR 4 Birmingham Rd. 0121 358 7977 B’HAM HAY MILLS 1152 Coventry Rd, Hay Mills 0121 7713433 BOLTON 1 Thynne St. BL3 6BD 01204 365799 BRADFORD 105-107 Manningham Lane. BD1 3BN 01274 390962 BRIGHTON 123 Lewes Rd, BN2 3QB 01273 915999 BRISTOL 1-3 Church Rd, Lawrence Hill. BS5 9JJ 0117 935 1060 BURTON UPON TRENT 12a Lichfield St. DE14 3QZ 01283 564 708 CAMBRIDGE 181-183 Histon Road, Cambridge. CB4 3HL 01223 322675 CARDIFF 44-46 City Rd. CF24 3DN 029 2046 5424 CARLISLE 85 London Rd. CA1 2LG 01228 591666 CHELTENHAM 84 Fairview Road. GL52 2EH 01242 514 402 CHESTER 43-45 St. James Street. CH1 3EY 01244 311258 COLCHESTER 4 North Station Rd. CO1 1RE 01206 762831 COVENTRY Bishop St. CV1 1HT 024 7622 4227 CROYDON 423-427 Brighton Rd, Sth Croydon 020 8763 0640 DARLINGTON 214 Northgate. DL1 1RB 01325 380 841 DEAL (KENT) 182-186 High St. CT14 6BQ 01304 373 434 DERBY Derwent St. DE1 2ED 01332 290 931 DONCASTER Wheatley Hall Road 01302 245 999 DUNDEE 24-26 Trades Lane. DD1 3ET 01382 225 140 EDINBURGH 163-171 Piersfield Terrace 0131 659 5919

CS10BRK

Top quality chrome vanadium steel.

18 Sockets 8-32mm Reversible ratchet Comfort grip handle £FROM ONLY .99

Motor 2HP 2.5HP 3HP 3HP

WASHERS

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1/2" TORQUE WRENCH - CHT141

DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £263.98 FOOTER inc.VAT

CFC100 Folding and fixed frames available Robust, rugged construction Overload safety valve

Model Tiger 8/260 Tiger 11/550 EXC.VAT INC.VAT Tiger 16/550 £499.00 £598.80 Tiger 16/1050 £559.00 £670.80 £615.00 £738.00 £619.00 £742.80 £689.00 £826.80 PARTS £1329.00 £1594.80 £598.80 inc.VAT

Fast snap connector attachments for quick & easy assembly Hydraulic pump, ram & hose with various tubes, pieces & connectors Includes metal case

DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £646.80 FOOTER inc.VAT

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TIGER 16/550

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AIR RCVR 100ltr 150ltr 200ltr 150ltr 200ltr 270ltr

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Ideal for effective cleaning with a hot jet of up to 80°C HARRY 2

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Max Weight Output KG exc.VAT £199.00 800W 9.3 £229.00 1700W 22 1100W 12.4 £259.00 1800W 19.4 £369.00 2200W 26.6 £398.00

DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £191.98 FOOTER inc.VAT

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2103 psi

FOOTER £107.94 inc.VAT

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159

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Superb range ideal for hobby & semi-professional use

£

UP TO

Model Capacity exc.VAT inc.VAT 7938KG 20SPS12 907kg £89.98 £107.98 inc.VAT 25SPS12 1134kg £124.99 £149.99 CAPACITY IN STOCK £80.39 £119.98 CAR TRANSPORTER £173.99 £227.98 LASHING £251.98

PG3800A Provides essential home, garage and roadside inc.VAT assistance Integral work light 910 /JS1100C £286.80 include air compressor Long life battery £346.80 £382.80 FROM ONLY .95 DOUBLE £682.80 £89 DOUBLE EXC.VAT

£238.80 inc.VAT

Top quality belt driven air compressors for industrial & commercial users inc; garages, factories, workshops and farms. 10 bar/150psi max working pressure †V-Twin *230V AIR. DISP MOTOR MODEL CFM (HP) XEV16/100 (OL)†* 14 3 XEV16/150 (OL)†* 14 3 XEV16/200(OL)†* 14 3 XEV16/150(400V)† 14 3 XE18/200 (OL)* 18 4 XE37/270 (OL)* 36 2x 4

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2610 psi

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KVA 2.2 3 3 5.5

PLS265B

inc.VAT HEADER FROM ONLY DRAW .00 £167.98 £ OWN 259inc.VAT EXC.VAT £214.80 £310.80 WATER £262.80 Pressure Engine £310.80 BAR/Psi HP exc.VAT inc.VAT £562.80 Model £259.00 £310.80 Tiger1800B 110/1595 3 £339.00 £406.80 Tiger2600B 180/2610 4 Tiger3000B 200/2900 6.5 £389.00 £466.80 PLS195B 180/2640 5.5 £479.00 £574.80 £639.00 £766.80 PLS220 230/3335 9 PLS265B 225/3263 13 £719.00 £862.80 PLS360 248/3600 13 £939.00 £1126.80

FOOTER inc.VAT CP185 £89.99 WASHERS Inc. hook & loop Makes easy work backing pad and for washing wool polishing bonnet vehicles, patios, stonework, etc.

JET7500, JET8500 & JET9500B include CP150 hose reel 180 Bar £FROM ONLY .99

HEAVY DUTY PETROL POWER NEW WASHERS

Honda & Diesel engine models in stock

CAN

exc.VAT £139.98 £179.00 £219.00 £259.00 £469.00

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IN-STORE PHONE 0844 880 1265 ONLINE www.machinemart.co.uk

Britain's Tools &

450NM

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CIR18LIC

Ideal for use as a garage/ workshop Extra tough triple layer cover Heavy duty powder ZIP CLOSE DOOR coated steel tubing *NEW Ratchet tight tensioning Model size (LxWxH) exc.VAT inc.VAT CIG81212 3.6 x 3.6 x 2.5m £259.00 £310.80 £289.00 £346.80 CIG81015 4.5 x 3 x 2.4m CIG81216 4.9 x 3.7 x 2.5m £329.00 £394.80 £359.00 £430.80 CIG81020 6.1 x 3 x 2.4m CIG81220 6.1 x 3.7 x 2.5m £399.00 £478.80 CIG81224 7.3 x 3.7 x 2.5m £499.00 £598.80 CIG1432* 9.7x4.3x3.65m £1159.00 £1390.80 CIG1640* 12x4.9x4.3m £3250.00 £3900.00

OPEN MON-FRI 8.30-6.00, SAT 8.30-5.30, SUN 10.00-4.00

NORWICH 282a Heigham St. NR2 4LZ 01603 766402 NORTHAMPTON Beckett Retail Park, St James’ Mill Rd 01604 267840 NOTTINGHAM 211 Lower Parliament St. 0115 956 1811 PETERBOROUGH 417 Lincoln Rd. Millfield 01733 311770 PLYMOUTH 58-64 Embankment Rd. PL4 9HY 01752 254050 POOLE 137-139 Bournemouth Rd. Parkstone 01202 717913 PORTSMOUTH 277-283 Copnor Rd. Copnor 023 9265 4777 PRESTON 53 Blackpool Rd. PR2 6BU 01772 703263 SHEFFIELD 453 London Rd. Heeley. S2 4HJ 0114 258 0831 SIDCUP 13 Blackfen Parade, Blackfen Rd 0208 3042069 SOUTHAMPTON 516-518 Portswood Rd. 023 8055 7788 SOUTHEND 1139-1141 London Rd. Leigh on Sea 01702 483 742 STOKE-ON-TRENT 382-396 Waterloo Rd. Hanley 01782 287321 SUNDERLAND 13-15 Ryhope Rd. Grangetown 0191 510 8773 SWANSEA 7 Samlet Rd. Llansamlet. SA7 9AG 01792 792969 SWINDON 21 Victoria Rd. SN1 3AW 01793 491717 TWICKENHAM 83-85 Heath Rd.TW1 4AW 020 8892 9117 WARRINGTON Unit 3, Hawley’s Trade Pk. 01925 630 937 WIGAN 2 Harrison Street, WN5 9AU 01942 323 785 WOLVERHAMPTON Parkfield Rd. Bilston 01902 494186 WORCESTER 48a Upper Tything. WR1 1JZ 01905 723451

*CTJ3000QLB JACKS has a 3 tonne capacity, ideal for CTJ3000QLB quick lifting of vehicles.

JACKS ALSO IN STOCK UP TO 5 TONNE

109

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DOUBLEEXC.VAT DOUBLE £131.98 FOOTER inc.VAT

Saddle exc.

Model Type Tonne Height VAT CTJ2L Long 2 378mm £38.99 CTJ3000QLB Quick Lift 3 465mm £109.98 CTJ3000C Pro Garage 3 465mm £139.00 CTJ2QLP Low Quick 2 510mm £149.98 Lift CTJ3LQLPRO Low Quick 3 505mm £189.00 Lift

inc.

VAT £46.79 £131.98 £166.80 £179.98 £226.80

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32212 (68) 4x4 (full).indd 1

*

29/04/2022 13:03

Step

39

SO 413 977

Turn right into the car park (yes, really) at the end of the tree-lined area to your right. The track exits through the far left corner of the car park

40 1.2

72 | SEPTEMBER 2022

15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 70

41 1.7

0.75 Step

Step

Prepare yourself for a long descent – it’s steep enough, and at times uneven, to warrant low range

Step

42

SO 403 930

Another road that’s barely a road at all

1.8

4x4 01/08/2022 23:16

Step

43

The road gives way to a track as you pass the farm buildings

1.95 Step

44 2.5

4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 71

Step

45

Caution – check over your shoulder for cars coming down the hill

2.95 Continue ahead on the track through the gate

Step

46 3.0

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 73

01/08/2022 23:16

Step 48: This junction is a horror. You’re looking for a hidden track, which looks like a driveway, between the last two chevron arrows at the start of a hard left-hander on a major A-road

Step

49

There’s a very uneven drop down into the ford and a rocky climb out of it

2.45 Step

50

Stay on the main track

2.5 Step

47

Caution – this is a main road

ZERO TRIP

5.65 Step

48 2.4

72 | SEPTEMBER 2022

15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 72

Craven Arms

SO 411 861

Extreme caution! This is very hard to identify as you approach it on the main road, and it looks like a driveway. You pass the B4370 on the left then a road for Edgton on the right. About 0.4 miles after that, you’ll see four chevron arrow signs for a sharp left-hand bend; the track is between the last two of these

Step

51

It’s quite narrow as you swing right on to the old railway bridge – take care not to hit the parapet on the inside of the corner

2.55 Step

52 2.7

4x4 01/08/2022 23:16

Step

Step

2.9

3.9

53 Step 55: The track picks up the course of a run-off channel, which leads you via an interesting side-slope to a wide, deep ford (above) – the exit from which is very challenging indeed

54 Step

55

SO 424 846

The track is opposite a road with a sign directing HGVs towards the A49

The track gets uneven and prone to collecting surface water. and run-off as you drop down to go through what used to be a bridge under a railway

4.15 Step

56

After the old bridge, the track basically follows a run-off channel, creating an entertainingly uneven side-slope

4.2 Step

57

Immediately after some wooden steps on the right (they’re part of a footpath crossing the track), you’re into a deep, wide ford. The climb out the other side is very uneven, too – we needed our rear AirLocker to get up it under control

4.25 4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 73

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 73

01/08/2022 23:17

Step

58

Caution – this is a fast main road

ZERO TRIP

4.35 Step

59 60 1.2

63 2.6 Step

Caution – another major road

64

Shrewsbury Church Stretton A49

0.35 Step

Step

You’re just staying on the same road here, but it doesn’t feel much like it

3.4 Step

SO 441 858

65 Strefford

1 4

4.8

Step

Step

1.5

5.95

Step

Step

61

Middlehope Ticklerton

212 3

66

62 2.45

Westhope 2

67 Lower Dinchope 14 Westhope 214

Burwood Middlehope

SO 487 878

This is easy to spot – there are three gates in a line, and you go through the middle one. It’s scratchy and uneven to start with

6.35

Step 70: We don’t know what it is about this part of the world, but the number of trails with water running along them is amazing

76 | SEPTEMBER 2022

15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 74

4x4 01/08/2022 23:17

Step

68

This is a much bigger track. The junction is between two gates

Step

72

6.45

8.25

Step

Step

69

73

6.55 Step

70

The track follows a stream bed for about fifty yards

74

Step

Step

6.95

2.4

15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 75

Much Wenlock Bridgnorth B4368

Step

2.35

4x4

ZERO TRIP

8.25

6.9

71

We have no idea which road has right of way here, so best assume you don’t!

75

Tugford Holdgate

212 3

SO 532 881

This is immediately after the bridge over the river. It’s a wide, well signed track

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 75

02/08/2022 17:14

Step

79 4.35 Step Step 81: In Clee St Margaret, there’s a road with a river running along it…

Step 84 (opposite): …then, just outside the village, you come to what is one of the longest fords in the country

80 Step

2.75

8.2

Step

Step

3.2

8.7

Step

Step

3.45

8.8

77 78

76 | SEPTEMBER 2022

15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 76

This is the second of two left turns that come up in quick succession

5.2

Step

76

Tugford

81 82 83

Abdon

112

Turn right in the village, then the road becomes the river bed

Ludlow

7

SO 558 843

The track looks quite overgrown as you approach, but it’s okay

The lane becomes sunken and quite roughly surfaced

4x4 01/08/2022 23:17

Step

84

Time for a leap of faith… You simply drive into the river and keep going, with no clue at first as to where the exit is going to be. Turns out you just keep going straight ahead, but this is one of the longest fords in the country

8.85 Step

85 86

88 9.85

At the top of the hill, the track dog-legs left then right through the gate. Then keep the farmhouse ahead to your left; keep your speed and revs right down here

Step

89

Arrive at the Tally Ho Inn in Bouldon for the end of the route

10.85

9.1 Step

Step

After the second gate, follow the track with the houses and barns on the left. This then swings hard right out of the farm. Again, drive slowly and keep the noise down

9.15 Step

87 9.5 4x4 15pp Roadbook Sept 22.indd 77

Join the tarmac as you cross the cattle grid

Step 89: The route culminates at the Tally Ho Inn in Bouldon

SEPTEMBER 2022 | 77

01/08/2022 23:17

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Tested: Jeep’s hardcore Compass Trailhawk – and the latest iteration of the Isuzu D-Max AT35 Plus: How ARB is readying the new Ford Ranger to become the off-road project of your dreams

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