With BMW popularizing a new form of slant-backed crossover and the likes of Lamborghini and Maserati working on crossovers of their own, the line between the sports car and the SUV is getting blurrier all the time. But this... this is something else. It's called the Sidewinder, and it's the work of one of our favorite independent daydreamers – Eduard Gray of Gray Design. It looks something like a Local Motors Rallyfighter or McRae Enduro, only, well, more so.
Powering this hypothetical dune buggy on who-knows-what is an 8.4-liter Chevy LSX crate engine kicking out a claimed 630 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. That's supposedly good enough for a 4.2-second dash to 60 and a top speed of 93 miles per hour... on sand. Suddenly the Ford Raptor seems downright pedestrian by comparison.
Fortunately there's a "robust suspension" with boxed chromoly arms, anti-sway bars front and rear, and KING bypass shocks. The carbon bodywork is completed by Trifilon at the former Saab prototype workshop, built around "an existing sand rail chassis." Gray even teamed up with Scandinavian firm Swedspot to design an Android-based system for the OLED infotainment and instrument screens, making this an all-Swedish production.
Although many of his most creative designs never see the light of day, Eduard Gray paints a picture of production feasibility and tells Autoblog that "the vehicles will be largely built to order and we care currently pitching it to wealthy clients in the Middle East and the US." Whether you're interested in ordering one or just in admiring the design, you can scope it out in the gallery above and the video below.
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