Can-Am’s Defender and Maverick R sit at opposite ends of the side-by-side spectrum. The Defender is primarily a workhorse, built around utility, carrying capacity, and rough-terrain ability, while the Maverick R takes a performance-focused approach, with long-travel suspension and serious off-road pace. Now, Can-Am has used both platforms to create two unconventional one-off concepts.

The Defender Prerunner reimagines the Defender as a remote race-support vehicle, inspired by events like King of the Hammers. Built around a six-wheel-drive configuration, it gains 35-inch tyres and a much more aggressive stance, allowing it to tackle the same difficult terrain as the competitors it might support. 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 the job done, the Maverick R XRay is considerably more theatrical. Inspired by the sand rails of Glamis, it features an exoskeleton structure wrapped in translucent, backlit body panels. Integrated lighting allows much of the vehicle 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. An active roof spoiler and Sparco seats 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 the Maverick R XRay is intended for production. Instead, the pair offers a glimpse of what Can-Am can do when normal production constraints are removed, with the company promising major new off-road product announcements every six months for the next four years.