St Petersburg, Russia - Just the thing for the dad who has everything. Meet the Sherp, a Russian all-terrain vehicle with monster-sized offroad tyres that can go ... well, just about anywhere.
With its oddball styling it may look like a prop from a Mars movie, but it’s a real vehicle with a pricetag of $65 000 (R1 million).
Built in St Petersburg, the Sherp is able to clear obstacles that would leave lesser 4x4s stranded and in need of a tow.
Squishy swamps? Deep dongas? Big boulders? Bah, all a breeze for those oversized 63 inch tractor tyres and 600mm ground clearance – and get this: the Sherp can swim too. The ridges on the tyres double as paddles so you can simply cruise across dams and rivers instead of having to waste time looking for a bridge.
The vehicle turns by means of skid steering, meaning the two wheels on one side are locked while power goes to the pair on the other side. It also has a tyre-inflation system to deal with varying kinds of turf, just like the vehicles racing in the Dakar Rally.
You’d probably imagine some monster V8 lurking under the bonnet but the Sherp’s powered by a humble 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel with just 33kW on call. Though it looks massive the four-seat ATV is actually very compact and light, weighing only 1300kg - about the same as a small hatchback. It’s able to cruise at 50km/h on land and 6km/h on water.
Star Motoring
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