Ahh the predator version of the Prius.

These things will have to be recharged, which means hauling extra fuel to camp, running generators, causing emissions, and yet getting a less useful vehicle. Use the diesel to operate a Land Cruiser and go hunting, not to run a generator so you can recharge a less competent vehicle. Stupid idea!

I love the look of the vehicle but I too would prefer it in the diesel version!

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need something like that to sneak back into the house at times

Oh yeah! So much B S . Where is the power sourced from? In South Africa, it will in all likelyhood if supplied by ESKOM, the supply commision, be generated by a COAL FIRED PLANT with all its attendant emissions.

Solar panels on the roof to give additional charge wouldn't go amiss...... All that lurverly sunshine we have here and no bugger thought to put it to use.

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The whole "green" thing is more about feeling good than hard cold quantifiable results. So this will be a hit in the eco tourism crowd.

A high end Bad Boy Buggie!

quote:

Ahh the predator version of the Prius.

That is funny!!

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anyone know what the run-time on the batteries is??

If you could get a whole day ++ out of it I can see uses for it.... If you are generating your power in camp and you return to the one camp every night, then you are probably wasting power (producing more than you need) which could be used to recharge this truck every night, plus as Shikari says a solar array on the roof would help to keep things topped-up.

I can imagine a lot of places where it might be very practical...

WOW it even has a place to put your bait!!! right out there on the front fender

Is it a Tata product? Tata does own Jaguar.

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Want to see more game? want to go green? Walk!

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
I love the look of the vehicle but I too would prefer it in the diesel version!

+1 but also with Toyota electrical (kept to bare minimum) and their Diesel 6.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Smith:
Want to see more game? want to go green? Walk!

Absolutely! ....and very quietly. This aspect of hunting / stalking seems to be missing in most of the writing available now a days.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
This is exactly what the game industry has been asking for and it makes a lot of sense. Long gone are the days of running generators on game ranches so having to deal with fuel and maintenance is lessened and having a game viewing vehicle that runs absolutely silent, actually starts and shuts off silently will be huge !

I can see the tousrim industry buing these, however they are going to be very expensive, they usually are !

Are you being facetious? Where do you think the electricity to charge the stupid thing is going to come from?

How many batteries will be required just for the winch to load a 2000 pound buff?

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

Are you being facetious? Where do you think the electricity to charge the stupid thing is going to come from?

As I said earlier, solar panels on the roof would help immensely....and if there's one thing we have plenty of here, it's free sunshine.

I'm sure the world will see an ever increasing number of electric and other alternatively fuelled vehicles as each year goes on and of course, often, it's more a case of being seen to be green rather than actually being green that's important.

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Seems like the solar charge option is coming.
When you are paying $1000 plus a night for luxury game viewing this may make you feel like you are getting the best game drive to be had

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/...ame-drives-1.1066073

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Just what the PETA crowd wanted.

Alf, regardless of whether it is for the pet lion crowd or not it is a total waste of energy and money. You are not green or saving the planet and any other such nonsense.

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quote:

Getting rid of the batteries when they are done for is going to be a bigger environmental threat and headache than was the emmisions of a conventional vehicle's lifespan!

Posts: 5823 | Registered: 16 August 2000

True! Have you known anyone who had a Prius at the end of its useful lifespan, i.e. when the body was OK but the batteries wouldn't hold a full charge anymore thus increasing the use of the engine and reducing the power, speed, and range considerably. The useless toys have no value and you have to pay a hazmat fee to get rid of its batteries.

The idea is probably OK, but the technology isn't far enough along to make it useful over a lifespan. I wouldn't ride one into the bush anywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by blanco county:
These things will have to be recharged, which means hauling extra fuel to camp, running generators, causing emissions, and yet getting a less useful vehicle. Use the diesel to operate a Land Cruiser and go hunting, not to run a generator so you can recharge a less competent vehicle. Stupid idea!

+1

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The Baker father and son team at Barker performance products in Benoni built this concept car. i dont know much about it like how many amps would be needed to charge the batteries but i know they did 400km off of one "tank / charge" they are still tweaking and fine tuning the car. it would be perfect for places like Kruger National Park where the roads are tarred and this car has an easy track to ride on with little resistance.

dont think it would ever make it to the hunting industry unless you are doing a hunt in the Rhino and Lion park near Johannesbrug.... lol

If you ever owned one of the newer Land Rovers or Range Rovers you know this electric idea will never work. The Range Rover I had was one of the best four wheele drive vehicles I ever drove.... When the electrical system worked. Something on that thing was always shorting out. After visiting with other owners, seems it very common.

Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.

I have two comments: 1) relying on an electrical system in an English vehicle? I'd call that dicey; 2) would it still be "green" if I put a 55 gallon drum of diesel and a generator in the back just in case the batteries ran down and Shakari's idea of solar panels didn't pan out in the rainy season?

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
I have two comments: 1) relying on an electrical system in an English vehicle? I'd call that dicey; 2) would it still be "green" if I put a 55 gallon drum of diesel and a generator in the back just in case the batteries ran down and Shakari's idea of solar panels didn't pan out in the rainy season?

Mate, even on wet days, the modern generation of solar panels will provide some help.... onviously not as much as a bright day but they are still reasonably effective and of course, any help is better than no help.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
You guys keep on going on about recharging in hunting camps and how stupid it is ???? etc. this is not a hunting vehicle ! It is a Game viewing vehicle!

This is a hunting site drowning in BS.

IS THAT SEAT OUT FRONT FOR THE BAIT??

Battery Landy stalks the Big Five


The original off-road brand is not being left behind by electrification trends in vehicle design.

Land Rover South Africa, in response to enquiries from local wildlife tourism operators, has developed a battery-powered Defender game viewing vehicle - as a concept, for now.

Engineered as a joint venture project between Barker performance (the well-known Benoni game-viewing vehicle specialist) and Land Rover, the electric Defender will be used on trial (and trail, coincidently) by Londolozi, a premium Sabi Sand concession game reserve.

Kevin Flynn, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover South Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa, said: "The Electric Game Viewer Concept is the perfect synergy of the Defender’s outstanding reputation as the definitive game-viewing vehicle, as well as our drive to reduce emissions.

"The all-electric vehicle has zero tailpipe emissions, silent operation and less effect on the environment in which such vehicles operate."

LESS POWER, SUFFICIENT TORQUE

Technically, the Defender’s motor and battery pack are sourced from Axeon – Europe’s leading independent supplier of lithium battery packs. The motor and 27kW/h battery pack are air-cooled and promise the 4x4 59kW and 330Nm, the latter being the important number.

Although the electric Defender is at a 31kW disadvantage to its turbodiesel production sibling, the discrepancy in torque is only 30Nm. For a slow-moving game viewing vehicle, the 330Nm of near instantaneous torque delivery is well worth the compromise, especially considering the electric Defender’s near silent operation; crucial when stalking animals for photographic opportunities.

The truncated range – especially in hot conditions – and hassle of recharging are the fundamental debits to battery-car ownership bu the Landy has a range of 80km on a full charge - with 20km of battery capacity left in reserve in case a pride of lion is proving elusive and guests remain insistent on a sighting.

At game-viewing speeds, the electric Defender should be good for eight hours of operational use per charge - more enough to reduce most tourists to tears of boredom as they try to locate clandestine big game among a neverending collection of animal camouflage-friendly bushveld.

SILENT STALKER

Land Rover says it has spent a substantial amount of time testing the electric powertrain up and down Gerotek’s gradients west of Pretoria and so far the system has proved reliable.

Retaining Land Rover’s coil-sprung live axle suspension (which provides a cushioned ride off-road compared to arch-rival Toyota’s leaf-sprung Land Cruiser) and permanent all-wheel drive (with a lockable centre differential), the electric Defender’s off-road abilities have in no way been compromised.

Though only a concept for now, the appeal of a wildlife vehicle with silent stalking ability is easy to see and should germinate the electric Defender into a specialist production run.

It sure beats the prospect of walking for hours hunched behind a game ranger's shorts.