'You can’t compare it to a Land Cruiser. This vehicle is used to go to a place where no one can go.’ So says Renault Trucks’ Marketing Director Marc Legeay, talking about the company’s new off-roader, the Sherpa. Take that as a fact, because Legeay isn’t exaggerating. The Sherpa you see in these pictures can’t realistically be compared to any civilian 4x4.

Described in military terms as a ‘Light Tactical Vehicle’, it’s a Hummer H1-like, heavy duty, all-terrain vehicle capable of going from A to B as quickly as possible. Except the Sherpa is supposed to surpass the H1 in every aspect. It has a bigger ground clearance, it’s longer, more powerful, and – most importantly when it comes to long-distance desert driving – has a bigger loading capacity at 3.5 tonnes.

Powered by a 4.8-litre, 4-cylinder diesel, the 5-ton Sherpa develops 240bhp and will do 140kph on tarmac. To deal with tough off-road conditions, it has a tyre inflation/deflation system, locking diffs all-round and 590lb ft of torque from just 1200rpm, which is a major factor when it comes to getting an equipment-laden beasty like this over a 45-degree incline – something Renault claims the Sherpa can do. Those huge tyres will also run on the slushy sand of the GCC on pressures as low as 11.6psi. At a constant 70kph, the 200-litre fuel tank is also good for around 850 kilometres. And to make sure the Sherpa will be durable enough in the region, Renault has carried out extensive tests and development work in Rhub Al Khali in Saudi Arabia.

Like the familiar H1, the Sherpa’s origins are in the military. There are over 200 of them on duty around the world and it’s being used by the UN and NATO. Locally, Renault Trucks has a strong record in Oman. Now Renault is capitalising on its military experience by filling a soft-sand-vehicle niche and selling it to private buyers in the Middle East on a built-to-order basis.

At a recent event in the sands of Bab Al Shams, a ride in the four-seat prototype Sherpa was all Renault Trucks was willing to offer (it’s still running on French plates), but there’s little doubt it’s one hell of a dune-basher, with a ground clearance of 630mm and a 60-degree approach angle.

Where you’d usually slow down as you approach a crest or small sand hills, the Sherpa leaps into the distance and lands violently. You bounce around in the race-spec seat and race harness, all the while holding on to the roll cage as it forces its way across the choppy desert. There really isn’t much that seems to phase it and it has that indestructable, made-of-industrial-metals feel about it. Its strong point is that, fully-loaded or not, it maintains constant momentum, no matter how uneven the ground gets. Renault Trucks describes it as ‘a desert killer’. It’s not far off.

The one chink in the armor came when, after several full-on passenger rides, the tyre inflation system failed to work on a rear tyre, which made the Michelin rip to shreds when it went over a rock. It made up for it, though, when it pulled out a stricken 13.5-tonne Renault Kerax truck that got stuck earlier in the day.