Mankind, in all his hubris, has determined that crossing impossibly large and barren deserts should be some kind of crazy-minded accomplishment. To wit, everything from foot races to motorcycle derbies have used deserts as a sort of natural barrier between racers and victory. It would be insane if it wasn’t so dang awesome.

That’s why Land Rover recently sent its all-new Range Rover Sport on a mission to conquer “The Empty Quarter” of Saudi Arabia, the second-largest sand desert in the world, after Africa’s infamous Sahara, and the Range Rover managed to do it at a record speed.

Starting out in the city of Wadi Addawasir in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the Range Rover team covered some 527 miles of nothing but sand and dust as they made their way to the border of the United Arab Emirates. The team managed to average a speed of 51.87 mph on a route rarely travelled in this day and age, proving once again the Land Rover has something of a monopoly on off-road craziness.

After all, driving on the shifting desert sands is a lot different than tackling your normal North American backwoods trail. Sure, those who call the Southwest home may have some experience with desert driving, but 500 miles in a foreign land, with no cell signals or waystation to call for help? That takes a special brand of car … and special brand of crazy. That’s something we understand at Off Road Xtreme.