Tag Archive for 'Weird'

Simply because we’re still in the mood let us have a look at some extra snow machines for the pure hell of it.

You might have spotted Ken Block’s tracked Subaru Impreza STI recently.

Sporting 400 bhp, you won’t find many faster ways of getting the kids to school across the average glacier, however Earth’s polar regions are harbouring stuff that’s plenty stranger.

Mars-1 Humvee

It may look like Arnie’s wet dream, but the Mars-1 Humvee may well help us explore the stars in the future. Built for the Haughton Mars Project this machine functions as a mobile laboratory studying the Haughton impact crater in the Canadian arctic. The crater is being used to develop techniques to investigate Martian geology.

The Mars-1 also doubles as a prototype pressurised Mars rover which will one day serve as a roving home and workspace for four astronauts on extended field trips. It was delivered to the research site by specially trained drivers wearing flotation suits just in case they went through the ice.

Snow Bug

The Snowbug is a Russian-built 6×6 vehicle custom designed by Arctic explorers . Fitted with Peugeot diesel engines they cruise at 25 mph. They can sleep 3 people, be dropped anywhere by parachute and are loaded with the technology to keep their crews oriented and warm in the most extreme conditions. A team of Snowbugs completed the fastest ever land crossing from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole in 2000. Their ultra-low pressure balloon tyres allow them to float on the surface of the snow and also pull the odd cool party trick. See above.

The Terrabus

If you decide to go for a career change in the US Antarctic program, Ivan The Terra bus may well be the first personality you meet on arrival at McMurdo Station. Manufactured by Foremost it can carry up to 56 passengers at 25 mph. Originally designed for tourism, less than ten examples are said to have been built and they’re mainly now used by polar bases. Unquestionably the ultimate choice for that mobile alpine disco.

Overland Train

The LeTourneau TC-497 was developed for the US Army in the late 50s to solve the problem of cargo delivery to areas with no roads. It utilised gas turbine engines driving electric motors in each wheel.  Each wheel was steerable but despite that a full length example still had a turning circle of a 1/4 mile, with 10 ft tall tyres and 570 ft long with multiple trailers attached that’s not surprising.

It could accommodate a crew of 6 in comfort over ranges of up to 400 miles. The cruising speed was 20 mph and the carrying capacity was 150 tons. The Overland Train became obsolete before testing even finished as helicopter load capacities increased. A tiny part of the machine lived on as the creator of Bigfoot bought its tyres from a scrapyard.

The train from the rear

Delta 2

Another Antarctic workhorse. The Foremost Delta is used as a bus, a pickup, a truck and anything else that’s needed in marginal conditions across the globe. A quick sniff around reveals a 1981 example can be yours for $85,000. Put those house deposit plans on the backburner.

Antarctic Snow Cruiser

The undisputed crown jewel of icy oddness, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was the brainchild of Thomas C Poulter. It was billed as the ultimate polar exploration vehicle, allowing the US government to seize tracts of Antarctica in comfort before any other countries could reach them.

Built in six months for a 1939 expedition, the cruiser was bursting with superlatives.

It was 55 feet long, had a range of 5000 miles with room for a crew of five and enough supplies to last them a year. An aeroplane strapped to the roof would supply mapping and photography data. Accommodation consisted of a control cab, kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and storage space. The wheels were retractable to aid crevasse crossings.

To reach the expedition ship departing for Antarctica in Boston, the cruiser was driven 1000 miles from Gary, Indiana attracting intense media attention all the way.

The cruiser arrived at the Bay of Whales in Antarctica in January 1940 with much excitement. Unfortunately it proved to be hopeless.

The machine was severely underpowered, overheating the electric motors powering its wheels within a few hundred yards. The wheels span uselessly in the snow. The most successful trek was completed in reverse. The snow cruiser was covered over and used as a static shelter.

WW2 caused the cancellation of funding and the cruiser was left to its fate. It was found in the late 40s buried under several feet of snow and found again in 1958 just as it had been left all those years ago. After that it was never seen again. Perhaps it was spirited to the Soviet Union, perhaps it fell to the bottom of the sea.

And the future? Lotus have this offering running around in the Antarctic today.

Powered by biofuels and weighing only 360 kilos, the Concept Ice Vehicle is the last word in low impact exploration. The machine comes with ice penetrating radar to detect crevasses and an exciting spiked foot to ram into the snow to stop in a hurry.

Want. In fact we want ALL of them.