Supacat HMT400 'Jackal', car review: Now this is a tough mudder

This is difficult. Because the Jackal is a machine designed to take the battle to the enemy, literally, while at the same time protecting its valuable cargo of military personnel. So this is all pretty serious and the Jackal has saved a lot of British soldiers’ lives. However it’s also an absolute hoot to drive around, because it’s so far beyond the capabilities of any civilian 4x4 you have ever seen that it’s in a league of its own. It’s immense fun.

So let’s acknowledge the serious side. This isn’t based on any commercial 4x4. It has a box-section steel spaceframe and it has steel armour plating that can protect the occupants from bullets and bombs. Predictably it was the IED threat that led to SC Group creating the Supacat Jackal back in 2002. This thing can shrug off the sort of blast that would send a Land Rover into orbit in a thousand pieces.

Despite the weight, which is a hefty 7600kg, it’s also incredibly fast. This is down to the 6.7-litre Cummins diesel which sits between the axles. A power output of 178bhp may not sound that much given the weight but the Jackal can shift across the landscape at up to 80mph. What is so remarkable, and here we’re drifting into the fun side, is the sort of terrain where you can go fast.

You can go fast basically anywhere. This is down to the sophisticated and heavy duty suspension set-up, which has hydraulic struts with air suspension. You can add a further 30cm of suspension lift for when the going gets ridiculously rough and this allows the Jackal to just flow over the landscape like a hovercraft.

Potholes, craters, tree stumps – everything is despatched with barely a shake of the armoured hull. With the front axle virtually under the front seat, it makes for a strange and somehow unsettling ride. Really, you shouldn’t be able to do this, it just feels wrong or indeed very right. Nothing else could do this that we’ve ever tried.

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The four-wheel drive system and auto transmission make it all even easier to press on regardless. The driving position isn’t exactly luxurious because it’s designed to protect you in the event of an explosion far beneath your seat, but it’s not a difficult vehicle to drive.

The Jackal can carry up to five men and has a 2.1-tonne payload. Naturally it is easy to configure, so you can have it set up how you want. If you have the money.

Already there are around 1000 examples saving lives, and doing their jobs around the world, often in the most inhospitable, unfriendly parts of the globe. But if you wanted one you’d have to find at least £500,000. And that probably wouldn’t include the 16 smoke grenade launchers, the gun turret, or the cutter on the roll bar designed to cut wires intended to decapitate the crew. You won’t find those items in even Land Rover’s accessories brochure.