Can-Am’s Defender and Maverick R sit at opposite ends of the side-by-side world. The Defender is primarily a working machine, built around utility, carrying capacity and rough-terrain ability, while the Maverick R takes the performance route with long-travel suspension and serious off-road pace. Now Can-Am has taken both platforms to create less conventional one-off concepts.

The Defender Prerunner imagines the Defender as a remote race-support vehicle, inspired by events such as King of the Hammers. Based around a six-wheel-drive configuration, it gains 35-inch tyres and a much more aggressive stance, allowing it to cover the same difficult terrain as the competitors it might be supporting. A trophy-truck-inspired LinQ rear bed provides space for tools, spare parts and equipment, while four Sparco seats turn the cabin into a mobile support base.

If the Prerunner is about getting a job done, the Maverick R XRay is considerably more theatrical. Inspired by the sand rails of Glamis, it introduces an exoskeleton structure wrapped in translucent, backlit body panels. Integrated lighting allows much of the vehicle itself to glow after dark, giving the concept an appearance somewhere between a dune buggy and a rolling light installation.

Underneath, the Maverick R platform has been converted to two-wheel drive and fitted with paddle tyres for sand use. There is also an active roof spoiler and Sparco seats to continue the competition theme. More unusual is the way the lighting responds to the vehicle: the panels illuminate red under braking and can be programmed with different colours and patterns, effectively turning the bodywork into another form of communication.

Neither the Defender Prerunner nor Maverick R XRay is designed for production. Instead, the pair offers a look at what Can-Am can do when normal production constraints are removed, with the company promising major new off-road product announcements every six months over the next four years.