Can-Am used its 2027 dealer show to introduce two concept vehicles that approach custom side-by-side design from completely different directions. The Can-Am Defender PreRunner is a six-wheel race-support vehicle designed to reach teams in remote terrain, while the Can-Am Maverick R XRay is a Glamis-inspired dune machine built around dramatic integrated lighting and an unusual exposed structure.
Neither vehicle is intended for production. Instead, Can-Am describes the builds as an opportunity to reconsider two of its most recognizable platforms without the usual limitations imposed on production vehicles.
The result is one concept focused on practical race support and another created to turn the Maverick R into a rolling nighttime display.
Why Can-Am Built These Concepts
Can-Am did not create the Defender PreRunner and Maverick R XRay as previews of specific production models. The company instead used them to reconsider two established platforms while exploring ideas that would be difficult to incorporate into a regular showroom vehicle.
“These two vehicles embody our design philosophy built on innovative architecture, functionality and emotion,” said Alain Massicotte, Director of Design and Innovation for side-by-sides at BRP.
That philosophy is expressed differently in each build. The Defender PreRunner emphasizes functionality by turning a six-wheel utility vehicle into a remote race-support machine. The Maverick R XRay emphasizes architecture and emotion through its exoskeleton structure, translucent panels and integrated lighting.
Can-Am also views concept vehicles as a way to start a conversation with its most engaged owners. Although neither build is intended for production, reactions to their design and individual features could help influence future vehicles and accessories.
Can-Am Defender 6×6 PreRunner Concept Vehicle
Can-Am Defender PreRunner Concept
The Defender PreRunner begins with the Can-Am Defender 6×6 platform, but its purpose goes well beyond the work normally associated with the Defender lineup.
Can-Am envisioned the concept as a remote race-support vehicle capable of prerunning a course, carrying equipment and reaching a race vehicle in places that may be miles from an established pit. The company specifically points to demanding events such as King of the Hammers as inspiration for the build.
Long off-road races are often decided by events that happen away from the main pits. A damaged tire, missing component or mechanical problem can end a race unless the support crew can reach the vehicle with the right tools and replacement parts. The Defender PreRunner was created around that requirement.
Can-Am Defender 6×6 PreRunner Concept Vehicle
Six-Wheel Race-Support Platform
The Defender’s 6×6 configuration provides a long and imposing foundation for the concept. It combines additional traction with the space required to carry tools, tires, components and other race-support equipment.
Aggressive 35-inch tires give the machine substantially more terrain capability than a standard utility configuration. The larger tires also contribute to a stance that makes the PreRunner look more like a purpose-built chase vehicle than a traditional working side-by-side.
Can-Am has not released detailed suspension, engine or dimensional specifications for the concept, so it remains unclear how extensively those systems were modified. The underlying idea, however, is easy to understand: combine the cargo capacity and versatility of a Defender 6×6 with the mobility required to support a race team in remote terrain.
Can-Am Defender 6×6 PreRunner Concept Vehicle
Trophy-Truck-Inspired LinQ Cargo Box
One of the Defender PreRunner’s most interesting elements is its trophy-truck-inspired LinQ cargo box.
The rear storage system was designed to keep tools and replacement parts organized, secure and accessible. That matters during a race, when quickly locating a jack, impact wrench, suspension component or drivetrain part can be as important as carrying it in the first place.
Using the LinQ attachment system also connects the concept to Can-Am’s existing accessory ecosystem, even though the complete cargo arrangement is unique to this vehicle.
The design demonstrates what a Defender-based race-support platform could become if cargo management were developed specifically around competition rather than general utility work.
Four-Seat Cab With Sparco Seats
The Defender PreRunner retains a four-seat cab, allowing it to carry a complete support crew into remote sections of a racecourse.
Can-Am fitted the interior with premium Sparco seats suited to the faster and more demanding conditions the concept is intended to encounter. The combination of four-passenger seating, six-wheel traction and dedicated parts storage gives the machine a role somewhere between a prerunner, chase vehicle and mobile pit.
That practical purpose separates the Defender PreRunner from many manufacturer concept vehicles. Even though it is not headed for production, the build addresses a real need for desert and rock-racing teams.
Can-Am Maverick R XRay Concept Vehicle
Can-Am Maverick R XRay Concept
Where the Defender PreRunner emphasizes function, the Maverick R XRay was created for spectacle.
The XRay is Can-Am’s interpretation of a high-end Glamis dune build. Its design draws from the illuminated custom side-by-sides that fill the dunes after dark, but the lighting was integrated into the vehicle rather than added as a collection of exterior accessories.
Underneath the light show is a heavily modified version of the Can-Am Maverick R with several unusual mechanical and aerodynamic features.
Can-Am Maverick R XRay Concept Vehicle
Translucent Illuminated Bodywork
The defining feature of the Maverick R XRay is its combination of translucent body panels and custom backlighting.
Lighting positioned behind the panels allows large sections of the vehicle to glow. The system can display different colors and patterns, transforming the body itself into part of the lighting package.
The XRay also glows red under braking, using the illuminated bodywork to provide a dramatic interpretation of a conventional brake light.
Illuminated whips, speaker rings, rock lights and underbody systems are common on custom dune vehicles. Incorporating light into the body construction itself, however, requires a much higher level of integration. Can-Am says the finish and execution were made possible by OEM-level design and manufacturing.
Can-Am Maverick R XRay Concept Vehicle
Exoskeleton Structure
The translucent panels are mounted around what Can-Am describes as an industry-first exoskeleton structure.
Moving much of the visible structure outside the traditional body gives the Maverick R XRay a radically different silhouette. It also allows the illuminated panels and mechanical elements to remain visually prominent instead of being hidden under conventional bodywork.
Can-Am presents the arrangement as a lightweight design, although the company has not released a finished vehicle weight or construction details that would allow a direct comparison with a production Maverick R.
Both concept vehicles feature Sparco seats and harnesses
Two-Wheel Drive and Active Roof Spoiler
The changes extend beyond the XRay’s illuminated exterior.
Can-Am converted the Maverick R concept to a custom two-wheel-drive configuration. That decision fits its dune-focused mission, where a rear-drive layout can produce a different driving experience from the four-wheel-drive production vehicle.
An active spoiler incorporated into the roof gives the XRay another feature rarely seen on a side-by-side. Can-Am has not explained how the spoiler is controlled or how much functional aerodynamic effect it produces, but its movement adds another dynamic element to the concept.
Sparco seats and paddle tires complete the Glamis-oriented build.
Two Different Interpretations of Can-Am Performance
The Defender PreRunner and Maverick R XRay have little in common beyond their Can-Am origins, and that contrast is what makes the pair interesting.
The Defender concept explores how a work-oriented 6×6 could be transformed into a specialized support vehicle for off-road racing. Its extended platform, large tires, four-seat cab and organized cargo system are built around solving practical problems.
The XRay approaches customization from the opposite direction. Its translucent panels, integrated lighting, exoskeleton, two-wheel-drive conversion and active spoiler are intended to make the vehicle part of the spectacle surrounding dune culture.
Some elements—particularly the PreRunner’s modular storage and the XRay’s integrated lighting—could influence future accessories or design ideas. However, Can-Am has not indicated that either concept previews a specific production model.
Concepts, Not Upcoming Production Models
Can-Am has made it clear that the Defender PreRunner and Maverick R XRay are not intended for production.
They should instead be viewed as unrestricted design studies created to explore what the Defender and Maverick R platforms can become. That gave Can-Am’s designers the freedom to build around a narrowly defined purpose without having to account for price, mass production or the broad range of uses expected from a showroom vehicle.
The concepts accompany the broader 2027 Can-Am UTV lineup, which includes expanded Defender XU packages, HD10 and HD11 engine choices, additional Maverick X3 equipment and Extra Low gearing across the Maverick R family.
The concepts also arrive as Can-Am begins another aggressive period of off-road product development. BRP says the brand plans to make major off-road product announcements every six months for the next four years, echoing a similar strategy that helped expand the Can-Am side-by-side lineup after the original Defender was introduced in 2015.
The Defender PreRunner and Maverick R XRay may never reach dealerships, but they provide an intriguing look at the ideas Can-Am is willing to explore as it develops its next generation of off-road vehicles.
See additional information and the complete photo galleries on the official Can-Am concept vehicles page.
More Can-Am coverage: Explore the history of the Can-Am Defender, read our Can-Am Defender 6×6 review, or visit the Can-Am UTV news, reviews and model guide.
