It takes a certain sort of person to buy a Land Rover Defender that’s been brutally upgraded to offer enormous amounts of power and a good attempt to make it possible to get it down on the black stuff. An off-road purist would blench, and so too would anyone not entirely comfortable with being the centre of attention. And that list of potential buyers gets a whole lot smaller when you look at the price tag of over £116,000.

Could you sensibly justify a 90 Defender at that price? Of course not. But, then, buyers aren’t going to feel any need to justify it. They want a Twisted Defender, so that’s what they’ll have. At the very least, you can see where a lot of the money goes. Just open the bonnet.

There’s definitely an engine in there. In fact, there isn’t anything else in there, like any space. The bay is filled with a 6.2-litre V8 that came from the Chevrolet Corvette. With it comes the GM six-speed auto box as well, driving all the wheels. So that’s a Defender that you’re going to try to drive, a 90, built for off-roading, only now it has 430bhp.

At this point you’ll be glad of that ‘s’ in the title of T40s. It means they’ve fitted their progressive suspension package, which upgrades everything. And you’ll be glad of the huge Alcon discs as well.

Jump in and fire it up. The engine throbs and grumbles with evil intent. There is no gearlever, just a touchpad. Press D and you’re only holding it on the brakes now, it wants to go. Put foot cautiously hard on the throttle and let brakes off. Listen to the tortured sound of all four wheels spinning on the road. Boom, you’re gone.

The power is insane. Twisted have done a really excellent job of springs and dampers so that the traditional Land Rover ride is only vaguely bumpy and thumpy. It’s certainly more comfortable than before but you’re never in doubt this was a vehicle originally designed not just for the highways but for the most extreme byways the world has to offer. Imagine taking a Lamborghini Huracan and trying to make an extreme off-roader out of it – that’s what this is, in reverse.

The steering isn’t bad, helped by the natty Momo steering wheel, but everything is overwhelmed by the brutal power and torque. It’s crazy but it’s exhilarating too. And loud. If you prefer the quiet life, then this isn’t for you.

Inside, the cabin has been upgraded with some luscious seats and lots of Alcantara, but it’s still a big box you’re in, with not nearly enough room to get comfy behind the wheel unless you want to rest an elbow on the windowsill.

So just to even explain why you’d buy one requires twisted logic. Which is why Twisted find a faithful band of people who want to buy their vehicles. If you’ve got the money and you want something really individual and different, then take the Twisted road.

Twisted T40s

Location: Surrey

On sale: Now

Price: £116,284 (as tested)

Engine: V8, 6162cc, petrol

Power: 430bhp at 6250rpm

Torque: 442lb ft at 4000-5900rpm

0-62mph: 5.8sec

Top speed: 134mph

Gearbox: 6-spd automatic

Kerb weight: 1902kg

Economy: 18.0mpg (combined)

CO2/tax band: na