King of the Hammers: A Punishing Off-Road Race

The King of the Hammers is often referred to as the toughest off-road race in the world. It’s not the longest in length or duration but the course is brutal. The race began a few years ago as a friendly competition between 12 drivers competing for a six pack of beer. This year, the race drew an estimated 40,000 spectators and had 400 teams competing. The course is 200 miles long over three laps, and ranges from desert terrain to serious rock crawling. The vehicles that compete are purpose-built off-road machines with 600hp V8 engines and custom suspensions and, even then, many don’t survive to the end.

/DRIVE paid a visit to this incredible event for the 2014 competition and shares their experience in this two-part video series. It’s incredible what the competitors are able to tackle in their custom off-road machines.

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Images courtesy of King of the Hammers.