If traditional heavy-duty SUVs aren’t quite dramatic enough for you, a newly unveiled vehicle that significantly ups the ante in the off-road stakes may be more up your street. Or, indeed, whatever surface you choose to drive it on.
British manufacturer Prodrive has revealed the Hunter, a road-going version of a contender the company built for the Dakar Rally that it claims will be the world’s first all-terrain hypercar.
The new arrival is, of course, a four-wheel drive affair, with power coming from a 3.5-litre V6-turbo engine that produces 600 brake horsepower and 700Nm of torque.
Initial estimates as to what the Hunter can do are impressive — the road-going version will reportedly have a 0-100 kilometres per hour time of less than four seconds and a top speed of 300kph. Take that, tarmac and dunes.
The vehicle the Hunter is based on is one Prodrive produced for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme event, which is part of the Dakar Rally. As the production model doesn’t have to comply with competition regulations though, the manufacturer has managed to squeeze an extra 50 per cent of oomph out of the engine.
Company chairman David Richards said the new arrival's ability to go anywhere was key to its appeal.
“There are numerous hypercars on the market, however they all need good roads or even race tracks to show their performance,” he said.
“We identified that in certain parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, there are vast expanses still to be explored that go way beyond the access provided by asphalt roads.
“Therefore, why not create a vehicle that gives the opportunity to explore these regions with performance way beyond that offered by any off-road vehicle before?”
A development version of the Hunter is currently touring the Middle East, and prospective customers are being offered the chance to drive it and consider what personal specifications they might fancy.
The Prodrive Hunter will cost £1.25 million plus local taxes (Dh6.25m), so we might not all be driving one, but the first customers will receive their vehicles later in 2022.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
