RUTA 40, in Argentina's rural northwest, doesn't have the same ring as Route 66. Nor does it have many paved roads, much traffic, rest stops, road signs or populist mystique. Yet, it is one of the few routes that will take those who use it through a land of extremes -- from lush valleys with century-old vineyards to deserts with blinding dust storms, active volcanoes and the Andes mountains, which pierce the clouds and promise those who test their perilous shelf roads a glimpse of one of the harshest climates on Earth.

It's spring and it's dry, opening shortcuts through Ruta 40 that would be off limits during the rainy season. The opportunity was too good to pass up.

Three days of extreme driving -- not a task for the fainthearted nor the typical Socialite's Uptown Vehicle (SUV).

The sport-utility of choice in this instance is the British-built Land Rover LR3, which is engineered to drive and survive off-road travel. The challenge is to reach Ruta 40's Paso Abra del Acay, the highest "driveable" road in the Americas, more than 4,000 metres above sea level. Such adventure tourism is a Land Rover specialty.

The SUV maker is confident its LR3 -- with its hydroformed frame, pneumatic air suspension, wheel articulation that is the best in the industry, unsurpassed rock-climbing capabilities and its technical reading of the terrain through its on-board computers and sensors -- will meet the challenge. Whether the small group of journalists from Canada, the United States and Mexico will is another matter.