Unlike all too many Americans who build off-road trucks and SUVs to stroll through urban city centers, enthusiasts in Iceland put their four-wheelers to work. When you live above the Arctic Circle and face sub-zero temperatures for months at a time, it requires truly capable rigs to explore the desolate landscape that’s packed with frozen lakes and feet of snow. In response to this brutish environment, locals opt for body cladding and monstrous tires that make their rigs look almost otherworldly—just like the ones we’re highlighting here.
Purpose-driven firm Arctic Trucks compiles complete packages with popular models from Land Rover and Toyota, including the Hilux pickup that Top Gear used to conquer the North Pole years ago. These trucks make Iceland perhaps the most hardcore of all when it comes to 4×4 adventures, and considering who they’re up against, that’s saying something.
Toyota Land Cruiser 150 Series AT44
The Toyota Land Cruiser is known world-’round for its unmatched reliability and incredible performance on any terrain. Arctic Trucks takes the modern 150 Series Land Cruiser, bolsters its already-potent arsenal of off-road aptitude, and equips it with enough modifications to make it look at home in the latest Halo game. With Toyota being perhaps the Icelandic company’s most requested brand, you can bet it’s done this one up right.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter AT44
If you’re brave enough to spend weeks on end overlanding through Iceland, then Arctic Trucks’ take on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van is essential. Not only does it provide enough space for days’ worth of gear, but it also has tried-and-true off-roading chops. It features a modest but effective lift to fit gargantuan off-road rubber at all four corners, and the Sprinter’s factory turbo-diesel V6 is plenty torquey with 325 pound-feet.
Ford F-350 AT46
Say you’re tired of measly mid-sizers and want the whole enchilada to take on Iceland’s most sizable glaciers. While the vehicles we’ve listed before are respectable without a doubt, the F-350 AT46 is the off-roading trump card. “Finesse” isn’t in the Ford’s vocabulary, but with 860-pound feet of torque from a turbocharged 6.7-liter diesel and 46-inch tires, why should it be?
Nissan Patrol AT44
Used abroad for years with a near-cult following amongst desert junkies, the Nissan Patrol is plenty adept in the ice in AT44 guise. Various generations of the Patrol can be fitted with the package, including the newest model that’s close to the Armada SUV we get in the States. It’s the most heavily optioned among three Arctic Trucks Patrol offerings and will serve in a pinch should you get caught between a crevasse and a hard place.
Hyundai AT38 Santa Fe
Undoubtedly the quirkiest of those on our list, the AT38 Santa Fe was actually built for one Patrick Bergel. The goal was to cross Antarctica like Bergel’s great grandfather, Ernest Shackleton, did by car from 1914-1917. As a result, Arctic Trucks built the AT38 with backing from Hyundai to create the world’s most rugged Santa Fe.
We can think of at least one person who would love to hear that news.
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