Here in the States, we have a number of forms of off-road recreation that countless people participate in annually, with few outweighing others in popularity. Over in the Nordic countries, however, one of the most popular off-road events is Formula Offroad, a 4×4 sport, originated in Iceland that has now spread to countries like Sweden and Norway, which involves showing off the capabilities of both driver and off-road vehicle in competitions most often involving hill climbs and driving “on” water. And if that doesn’t sound crazy enough, how about adding a 1,200 HP, LS3-equipped beast to the equation. Check out this exact madness in the Insane Racing video above.

Images: Palli Kristmunddson

The off-road vehicle seen here is called Thunderbolt, an aluminum-bodied, LS3-powered, turbo-charged beast of a vehicle owned and driven by Roar Johansen of Norway. The courses it’s on are all Formula Offroad courses involving steep hill climbs in Sweden and Ler, Norway. Of course, the whole idea of this sort of competition is to get to the top of the hill in the fastest time possible, and with about 1,200 HP, Thunderbolt wouldn’t seem to have any problems. That is except the issue of staying on the top of the hill once its been conquered.

Backed by a TH400 transmission, hybrid Ford 9-inch rearend, and Fox 2.5 “Airshox 14” shocks, Thunderbolt, which runs in the Unlimited Class under the Lightfoot Racing banner, has plenty of sticking power, but when facing some of the craziest hill climbs in the world, even the best of the best are going to have their challenges. But we won’t ruin the whole video for you. You’ll just have to check it out to see just what kind of craziness Johansen and Thunderbolt got themselves into during this last season of Formula Offroad!