Axon's Automotive Anorak: Surly six-wheelers

Tailor-made exactingly to Goodwood’s specific requirements, the Fire Crew’s unique three-axle Defender has given many years of faithful and dependable service, helping to keep countless thousands of Goodwood’s visitors safe and sound over the years.

Having spent more than a dozen years of my working life based at the Motor Circuit and Aerodrome, the six-wheeled Land Rover has become such a familiar sight for me, it has become as much a part of the Goodwood landscape as the famous Old Control Tower, the much-photographed Girling/Mintex commentary tower above the pit lane, or the occasionally re-arranged red and white chicane. 

Sadly, the useful lifespan of this six-wheeled Goodwood landmark is now coming to an end, with this ultra-versatile Defender soon to be replaced by a pair of brand-new shiny pickup trucks, specially adapted for firefighting duties around the 12,000+ acre Goodwood Estate. 

Six-wheels gave the Goodwood Land Rover outstanding versatility and enhanced grip and road holding benefits, particularly in rough and slippy terrain, but with the added expense of two extra tyres to buy every few years!  

Four wheels at the front for enhanced grip (such as the infamous 1976 Tyrrell P34 F1 and wild Wolfrace Sonic 6 and Sbarro TAG Function Car prototypes) or four at the rear to increase traction and grip (such as the still-born 1982 Williams March FW08B, March 2-4-0 and 1970s Tissier Citroen CX high-speed delivery van and ambulance conversions), as well load space and versatility (as typified by the pre-war six-wheeled Morris-Commercial and Mercedes-Benz W31 G4).

Here are six other top triple-axle road cars that also deserve closer attention;

Panther 6

Since its founding by ex-fashion guru Robert Jankel in 1972 with his ‘Jaguar’ SS100-inspired J72, Panther Westwinds quickly became a ‘must see’ attraction at the annual Earls Court Motor Show, with an array of increasingly daring cars appearing each year, such as the extreme wedged Lazer of 1974 and the ostentatious De Ville, a large neo-retro homage to the late-1920s Bugatti Royale with Austin 1800 doors! Jankel excelled himself at the 1977 Earls Court Motorfair however, with this extravagant panther 6 six-wheeled supercar. Taking a then-topical leaf from Tyrrell’s recent Formula One success, the Panther 6 used four small wheels at the front, with the much larger rear pair powering a mighty twin-turbo Cadillac 8.2-litre V8. The car stunned the Earls Court crowds with its appearance and sheer excess and made the news headlines the world-over, helped by its claimed (but unproven) 600 bhp and 200mph top speed. The Panther was priced at £39,950, around 40 per cent more than the costly Lamborghini Countach of the time, with luxuries including a telephone in each door and dash-mounted television. Despite huge global interest, only two Panther 6 models were ever built. 

Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63 6x6 

At the time of its 2014 launch, Mercedes-Benz declared its new AMG G 63 AMG 6x6 to be the ultimate off-road vehicle. The regular Steyr-Magna-built G-Class – first launched in 1979- has long been a popular off-roader, initially with farmers and the German military, with the model’s client based shifting more towards drug-dealers and celebs in recent years. With its exclusive limited edition six-wheeler, Mercedes-Benz was keen to show the abilities it has in building extreme off-road vehicles, equipping the AMG G 63 6x6 with a one-metre long suspension, 6x6 portal axles and the AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8. This resulted in a 2.2m high, 2.1m wide and almost 6m long pickup-cum-SUV that offered a unique and bespoke driving experience for the 100 wealthy customers for this rare 6x6, a handful of which may have driven over the odd desert dune, but by now most will have been safely tucked away in private car collections.

Covini C6

A spiritual successor to the Panther 6, the Covini C6W six-wheeled supercar was first unveiled in prototype form in 2004, making its memorable dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed in 2011, gaining more global media coverage that year than any other supercar present at the Goodwood event. Sporting the same four-up-front, two-at-the-back wheel layout as the Panther, the C6W used a mid-mounted 434 bhp 4.2-litre Audi V8, and had a claimed top speed of 185 mph, with the combination of four-wheel frontal steering and a kerb weight of less than 1,200kg making the Italian Covini agile enough to give established supercars a good run for their money.

Interstyl Hustler Six

Throughout the 1970s, a number of utilitarian Moke-style British kit cars – all based around the ubiquitous Mini’s front-wheel-drive running gear – offered the option of a stretched six-wheeled variant to enhance the car’s practicality and versatility. Popular 1970s kits such as the Stimson Safari/Six, Robert Mandry’s Scamp and Ranger were all available with a choice of two or three axles (the extra one being at the rear) this option also being offered for the French Hrubon. In 1978 though, arguably the ultimate Mini-based six-wheeled kit car was introduced, the versatile, square-cut Hustler, created by the talented ex-Rover, Rootes and Aston Martin designer; William Towns, the author of the outstanding late 1970s Lagonda. Until his untimely demise in 1993, Towns managed to stretch his Hustler concept to over 60 model derivatives, including wooden-bodied versions, a wheelchair-able adaption and even an amphibious derivative, based on a six-wheeled Argocat ATV. 

Alternative six-wheeled body styles included the Holiday, Hellcat and Highlander, the ultimate Hustler, dwarfing a Range Rover, and powered by a Jaguar V12. 

De Leotard Renault 5

Having spent some years in the early 1970s working in Chesham, Bucks, for Scottern Trailers, one of the first converters of six-wheel-drive Range Rovers, Frenchman Christian de Leotard returned to his homeland in the late ‘70s, where he began to convert the then-current Renault 5 hatchbacks into six-wheelers. Starting with the sportier 5 TS and Alpine (Gordini in the UK) models, automotive experimenter de Leotard added a raised rear side-roof section, a la Matra Rancho, plus an additional rear axle to create some extreme Renaults. With all six wheels are driven, plus half-a-dozen disc brakes and this Renault 5 were good to haul almost 1600lbs., de Leotard entered an example in the 1980 Paris-Dakar rally, which finished the tough event. He even built a 6x2 version of the untamed mid-engined Renault 5 Turbo (with two R5 turbo engines, mounted fore and aft), which proved to be equally challenging to drive at speed, with this unique six-wheeler sadly lost to fire in 2002, and still awaiting a full rebuild. De Leotard later returned to the Paris-Dakar rally with a six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz 190!

Range Rover 6-Wheelers

As well as the afore-mentioned Scottern Trailers, in the 1970s a sizeable number of coachbuilders and off-road specialists converted Range Rovers into six-wheelers for a variety of purposes, be they for use by the emergency services (such as the Carmichael Commander and Rescue), hunting (Glenfrome, Townley, Panther Westwinds and others), or sheer luxury and one-upmanship (Wood & Picket, Rapport, Chameleon, Auto Kugel, and so on). These three-axle Range Rovers are now highly-prized collectors’ items, many having led a tough life in firefighting, mountain rescue, etc., whilst others had a comfortable existence for falconry and wafting wealthy playboys along with speed and space to their private Lear jet. The trend for six-wheeled Range Rovers faded away when the final Classic models were built by Land Rover in the early 1990s.