AN all-terrain hypercar has been developed by British engineering specialists Prodrive with a price tag of £1.25 million.

The Hunter is a 600bhp specialist vehicle born out of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme competition car driven by nine-time World Champion, Sebastien Loeb, to compete on the toughest motorsport race in the world, the Dakar,

Styled by former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum, Prodrive says that the Hunter has 50 per cent more power than the version driven by Loeb and added suspension travel to absorb the harshest of terrain.

It is fitted with a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine and Prodrive says it is the product of more than 40 years of successful off-road competition.

Prodrive chairman, David Richards, said: "There are numerous hypercars on the market, however they all need good roads or even race tracks to show their performance.

"We identified that in certain parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, there are vast expanses still to be explored that go way beyond the access provided by asphalt roads. Therefore why not create a vehicle that gives the opportunity to explore these regions with performance way beyond that offered by any off-road vehicle before."

The Hunter retains the Dakar competition car's engine, drivetrain and suspension, but to improve driveability, the manual sequential gear box has been replaced by a six-speed paddle shift, giving a smooth gear change in just milliseconds.

The engine has been refined and retuned on Prodrive's advanced transient dyno in Banbury, Oxfordshire, to produce over 600 bhp and 700 Nm of torque while making its power delivery smoother and easier to drive.

Prodrive estimates that this would give it a 0-60mph time in less than four seconds and a top speed of nearly 190mph.

The vehicle is fitted with bespoke 35-inch off-road tyres designed to optimise grip over rough terrain and sand rather than on tarmac.

Richards added: "We took the deliberate decision to keep the Hunter Hypercar as close to the original as possible. It's about giving owners the opportunity to experience what it is like to drive Loeb's Dakar car across the desert, but with all the comforts of a road car and the ability to drive it from your home, through a city, to any destination of your choice."

The first development vehicle is currently touring the Middle East wherecustomers are being offered the opportunity of driving the Hunter. The first production vehicles are scheduled to be delivered later in the year.