The Mongolian steppe can be a cold desolate place, but a pair of wealth business men have found a way to enjoy the snow-covered plains while living in the lap of luxury. They  purchased two military-spec Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks and retrofitted them with living quarters fit for the Great Khan himself: Heated marble floors, leather couches, automatic folding tables, two flat screen televisions, and a side bay for an ATV.

But don’t let the gratuitous wood-paneling fool you, these aren’t any typical RVs. Under the hood they boast a 7.2-liter inline-six that cranks out 326 horsepower at a thunderous 959 lb-ft of torque between 1,200 and 1,600 RPM -  Enough torque to climb up a wall, if they didn’t weigh 10 tons each.  And just in case one of them gets a flat, each vehicle carry two spares wheels with them at all times.

These all-terrain behemoths certainly are impressive, but the combination of luxury and off-road capability seems a bit eccentric. What exactly do these two businessmen need these vehicles for? The answer is one that can only be found in Mongolia…

The duo use their all-terrain vehicles to go hunting, for wolves, with eagles. Apparently Mongolians have been using giant trained eagles to hunt wolves for centuries. (CAUTION: link contains footage of giant trained eagles hunting wolves) Before the men had to ride horses and sleep in tents to access the remote hunting grounds, but they’ve now substantially increased their range as well as their level of comfort. It’s a win win for everybody, well, except the wolves.

[ Via Autopia]