These cars prove that money doesn't buy taste

One looks like an environmental disaster, and the other is built to survive the end of the world—meet the Mansory Pugnator and the "World Ender" from Apocalypse Workshop, two extreme modifications from Germany and the U.S., where the words "restraint" and "humility" simply don't exist.

Let's start with the easier one to digest, as much as a Land Rover Defender with a front attachment called a "cow killer" can be. This is the latest product from a Florida-based workshop called "Apocalypse Industries," and to avoid any confusion about its purpose, it’s also called the "World Ender." Which, when you think about it, is essentially the same thing.

The first and quite complex task for the workshop was to widen the Defender by 61 cm to accommodate the new drivetrain. It wasn’t just about assembling parts; they also gave it an additional 20 cm lift beyond the manufacturer’s height, which required creating a custom air suspension lift kit specifically for this vehicle. To power this beast, it uses Land Rover's largest engine—a 5.0-liter V8, and because they could, it also features a supercharger. The engine produces 518 horsepower, and the vehicle has permanent all-wheel drive, with an option for the driver to disconnect the front wheels for 6x4 drive mode.

Other features to help you survive the end of the world in this vehicle include a roll cage, a steel roof rack for extra gear, an enlarged fuel tank, full underbody protection, and more. And if the apocalypse isn't total war, nuclear disaster, alien invasion, or a zombie outbreak—you know, the usual stuff—it also comes with a sharp-edged "cow killer" to fend off any revenge-seeking animals.

Interested in buying one? Sure, but the price starts at $375,000, or roughly NIS 3.3M here in Israel.

Coincidentally, another car has a base price between $375,000 and $400,000—the Ferrari Purosangue. But calling it that might feel like sacrilege. The Purosangue, as you may recall, was Ferrari's interpretation of an SUV or crossover. Introduced in 2023, it was the first Ferrari in 75 years with rear doors, and the first Ferrari to declare that the driving experience wasn't the main focus—passenger comfort was also a priority.

And if Ferrari has already lost its uniqueness, why not let a workshop synonymous with vulgarity and flamboyance finish the job? Mansory, a German tuning workshop founded by British-Iranian entrepreneur Kourosh Mansory, has worked on vehicles ranging from Mercedes and Bugatti to Aston Martin and Lamborghini, giving them all a horrifyingly garish cosmetic makeover.

Their latest victim, the Purosangue, was unveiled yesterday at the Monaco Yacht Show—just to clarify the target audience here. These aren’t the regular yacht owners, and certainly not the ones attending a yacht show in the Ashkelon marina, but those who come to the Monaco Yacht Show. They named it "Pugnator," which means "rival" or "competitor" in Latin. They took the relatively elegant lines of the Purosangue and dressed it in a carbon fiber body kit, because, you know, what every Michelin-starred dish needs is ketchup!

The kit includes a front skirt, hood, wheel arch air deflectors, side skirts, widened wheel arches, a diffuser, a rear spoiler, and 22-inch front wheels with 23-inch rear wheels—because who doesn’t want low-profile sport tires on their crossover or SUV?

Inside, the crossover is decked out in white and red, but customers can choose any color combination they desire, including the carbon fiber parts on the upper dashboard, which can also be color-matched to the exterior.

Unlike some of their previous conversions, Mansory didn’t stop with the exterior. They also tuned the 6.5-liter V12 engine, boosting its original 725 horsepower and 71.6 kgm of torque to 755 horsepower and 74.4 kgm. There’s no official statement on the performance numbers, but the original's are more than sufficient: 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 310 km/h.

But, there’s some good news. Mansory announced that the Pugnator will be produced in a very limited series, with only 7-8 units planned. Ready to prepare your checkbook and blindfold? Get ready to write a check far, far beyond the NIS 3.3M it starts at in Israel.