Avtoros Shaman 8x8 Makes The Mercedes-Amg G63 6x6 Seem Petite

When Mercedes unveiled the Mercedes-AMG G63 6x6, it was thought to be the ultimate off-road vehicle designed to crush zombies and scale Mt. Everest. That was, until, a video caught the luxury off-road Mercedes getting snuck in the snow, needing a snowcat to assist pulling it out. Granted, it appears the snowcat did little to help. However, if that turns you off to the G63, there is the Avtoros Shaman 8x8. It has two more axles than the G63 6x6, and it towers over the Mercedes in both size and ridiculousness.

Where to even begin? The Avtoros Shaman 8x8 is designed to be the ultimate off-road vehicle that can haul a lot of people or just a few depending on the chosen configuration. On paper, it appears far from powerful – a 170-horsepower diesel engine provides the grunt. That's not a lot, and top speed is limited to just 44 miles per hour. It won't be jumping any dunes like the Mercedes.

Inside, the Shaman 8x8 is all business, and by business, we mean utilitarian and sparse. The driver gets a central seating position with a bank of dials and switches angled for the best visibility and ergonomics. The Shaman looks huge, but it's technically narrow enough to drive on public roads – which is made easy with all-wheel steering. We wouldn't recommend trying to parallel park it next to the market though. We're pretty sure you could crush a Fiat and not notice it.

The downside to something this large – fuel economy. The Shaman returns about 11 miles per gallon on a good day of driving. The good thing is that the fuel take is quite large, measuring 68.7 gallons (270 liters). That should give drivers about 755 miles on a single, expensive, tank of gas.

The the Avtoros Shaman 8x8 is the G63 6x6's ridiculous cousin. It's outrageous to the point of comical but packs plenty of off-road capabilities that makes sense when you look at them. This can go anywhere off road, has a decent range on a single tank, and is configurable to the customer's desire – whether it's hauling people or a patient.