I’ll give some of you a second or two to rub your eyes…

Yes, this is still crankandpiston, and we are fully aware that a 4×4 seems to have infiltrated the roost. But sit down, relax, take a quick gulp of water and let me explain this unusual turn of events.

Chances are most of our Middle Eastern brethren will already own, or may have owned in the past, a Land Rover LR4. What makes this particular model stand out though is that this is the new, more rugged XTech Special Edition, and there’s seemingly very little Mother Nature can throw at it without this LR4 turning round and delivering a fairly hefty roundhouse.

Glossing over the embossed headrests and Nutmeg stitching on the steering wheel, we find an updated 2.2l powerplant with six-speed transmission and a fairly substantial 360Nm of torque. Combine that with the new facelift – including bull bars, a new grille, MTR off-road tyres and ‘Tooth‘ alloy wheels – and we’re ready to roll.

Okay, yes, we’ll admit that sub-4s 0-100kph times and over-200kph top speeds will be a little hard to come by with this model. And we are prone – on occasion – at crankandpiston to draw comparisons with demonic beasts and Armageddon-provoking superchargers that boast the power to snap one’s neck in twain. The new XTech Special Edition LR4 may not be one such machine, but it’ll be a good choice to have watching your back when hell does indeed walk the earth with a V12 in its chest.