‘Drive it like we stole it’: meet the simply brilliant, limited edition LFG off-roader

The Quail is a cornerstone of Monterey Car Week. It is a respected and prestigious motoring event showcasing impossibly expensive unobtanium. It’s genteel. Civilised.

One invitee however, wants to trash the party, and this is it: it’s the LFG, and it’s here to have some fun.

“Let’s have some fun,” said the companies behind it. “Let’s explore. Let’s drive it like we stole it.”

Photography: Mark Riccioni and Stephan Bauer

Those companies are Meyers Manx and Tuthill, who want “redefine the spirit of recreational driving”. The former is of course, a US company quite famous for building a dune buggy, while the latter is a Brit firm responsible for droolworthy old Porsches. This is the natural result.

As befits something capable of “recreational driving”, it’s 4WD, features many limited slip diffs, five-way adjustable dampers with hydraulic bump stops, roll-over protection, four-pot off-road calipers mounted onto steel brakes, all-terrain tyres and a long-range fuel tank.

Speaking of, that tank will provide energy for “several” engine specifications, including a four-valve engine derived from the glorious 3.1-litre nestled in the back of the Tuthill 911K. That thing revs to 11,000rpm. Now imagine it al fresco. While pinning it along a desert.

The four-valver is attached to a six-speed sequential gearbox and lightweight Iconel exhaust system, while inside you’ll get such luxuries as climate control and in-built sat nav. Naturally, the entire carbon fibre bodied LFG is all bespoke, and just 100 will be built at a price yet to be disclosed.

“This project started as a dream between my long -time pal Richard and me, who are constantly in pursuit of the ultimate expression of freedom and performance,” said Meyers Manx’s Phillip Sarofim. “The result is exactly what we sought; raw, visceral, novel, and totally uncompromising. We call it LFG for a reason.”

“The car looks fun, mischievous, it has a character that I have genuinely never seen or felt,” added Richard Tuthill. “But underneath it’s proper – could we go to the moon and back in it? Probably yes.

“In two minutes, it transforms from a fully air conditioned enclosed cabin to a doorless buggy where the wind provides the air that helps us smile. It’s very special. I can't wait to get started, please join in – LFG.”