An electric vehicle designed by Formula 1 engineers in consultation with the UK Special Forces (UKSF) could see elite British Troops operating from electric vehicles.
The Pioneer X, unveiled by designers Fering Technologies, was unveiled at the International Armoured Vehicles Conference this week and comes equipped with 2.7mm machine guns, 40mm automatic grenade launchers, and a host of other weaponry.
The company’s chief operating officer, Gren Paull, described the hybrid prototype as “not your everyday Prius” and outlined its potential to help troops infiltrate behind enemy lines thanks to its 50-mile range and reduced engine noise.
He told the Telegraph: “This particular car is built in conjunction with Special Forces.
“It is a scalpel. It’s designed to be very sneaky for raiding, sabotage – what Special Forces do.”
He added: “Electricity is an incredible source of propulsion. It’s why submarines were diesel-electric for years. You could argue that electricity was actually what the first cars were. It’s not your everyday Prius. It’s slightly different.”
The vehicle’s 60kW multi-fuel generator can extend its range to more than 4,000 miles, giving soldiers flexibility in how they deploy it.
Designed at their facility in Battersea, Mr Paull described how his racing background combined with the experience of designers from top Formula 1 teams means that the vehicle is designed with success in mind.
He said: “Being race car engineers, everyone wants to win, that’s the DNA… Everyone’s history is winning on a track.
“This is a performance car, but its environment isn’t the track… it needs to win behind enemy lines. Everything on the car is engineered for purpose. If it doesn’t execute its job, it doesn’t get on the car.”
The armed forces are known to be experimenting with how to adopt new technology to give them the edge on the battlefield of tomorrow.
Teams across the military are experimenting with emerging technologies such as 3D printing, unmanned transportation of logistics and blood storage closer to the front line to transform their ability to fight effectively and efficiently.
Others are far from convinced and have accused the military of going “woke”.
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan, said: “What this amounts to is virtue-signalling by MoD, trying to get into the climate change agenda.
“I suspect it will be wasting quite a lot of people’s time and resources in trying to show they are playing their part. At the moment, the technology is just not there.
“It is hard enough to keep the current vehicles supplied with fuel; that is a massive operation on its own – I just can’t see how it would possibly work with EVs.”
