”Three trained (but not necessarily expert) people can put an OX together in approximately 12 hours.” (from <a href="http://oxgvt.com/the-ox-all-terrain-vehicle/" rel="nofollow">http://oxgvt.com/the-ox-all-terrain-vehicle/</a>)<p>I'd love for them to put up a full 12 hour video on YouTube showing the whole process, with no fancy editing or disturbing music. Just three engineers working away in a big, empty hall, turning a package into an OX. I imagine it would be mesmerizing to watch.
When Gordon Murray designs a truck, it's worth paying attention. The McLaren F1 road car pioneered a lot of new and creative technology that is still trickling down in consumer cars today, while remaining an excellently built car loved by enthusiasts and that has appreciated in value several folds. It almost defined the brand of form following function in super cars. McLaren are also known for building a lot of their own parts and tools down to the nuts versus using suppliers. Given Gordon Murray's attention to details, there is probably a lot more interesting things about this truck than the article can mention.
I was curious what it looked like flat-packed: <a href="http://oxgvt.com/wp-content/uploads/Flat-Packing2.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://oxgvt.com/wp-content/uploads/Flat-Packing2.jpg</a>
This reminds me of the soldiers who can disassemble and reassemble an entire Jeep in 3 minutes:<p><a href="http://www.military.com/video/logistics-and-supplies/military-vehicles/soldiers-strip-and-rebuild-jeep-in-minutes/694682404001/" rel="nofollow">http://www.military.com/video/logistics-and-supplies/militar...</a>
Design looks similar to Australian OKA 4WD ATV[1]. Hindustan Motors in India used to manufacture a licensed version called RTV, back in the 90s.<p>[1] <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20121021203320/http://www.oka.com.au/" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20121021203320/http://www.oka.com...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.thehindu.com/2001/06/23/stories/06230005.htm" rel="nofollow">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.the...</a>
I want one! Where do I order?<p>Anybody know about the emissions and if you can drive it in the US (non-California)?<p>I also wonder if the parts are easy and standard enough to make in more widely distributed factories. Seems the revolution waiting to happen is when a small country can make at least some of the parts in a small factory and trade with other similar partners to commodify the ecosystem, like PCs in the 1990s etc.
"Murray says the inspiration for the dynamics came from the Renault 4, once a much-loved off-roader in Africa and Southern Europe."<p>for those who are interested the renault 4 also called 4l is used for an international race run by student every year since 20 years.<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/4L_Trophy" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/4L_Trophy</a>
Wasn't an ultra cheap Chinese-made truck banned in EU, because in a head-on crash at 30mph the whole cabin would just basically fold into itself, killing everyone inside - does this extremely simple design not suffer from the same problem?
Not much information on the diesel engine used.<p>Is it a Common Rail, computer-controlled diesel?<p>I'm in West Africa now, and the diesel quality down here means you really want an all-mechanical injection pump, not a CRD.<p>Cool idea, but he's got to remember that virtually no body down here (save the UN and big NGOs) buys new vehicles. They're all clapped-out things shipped in from Europe - even the land cruisers have 400,000+ kms on them when they get here.
I can't believe I'm the only commenter who seems to want one of these. I really want one of these. I'd like my kids to be able to mess around with car repair as they get older, and this just seems perfect for teenagers -- camping, glamping, drive 11 closest friends around -- seriously, I love this.<p>This is just a very modern car/truck. I love it.
Can some Englishperson kindly explain to me what these phrases mean?<p>- "sand ladders"<p>- "a blockable front brake"<p>- "a six-speed power take off"<p>Also, why is there no video? Doesn't Top Gear have anyone on staff who can edit video? Or am I just missing the link?
very cool ..I would buy one.<p>I'm assuming there's more to the name...unlike normal trucks that can only go up to 10, this one can go all the way to 0xB ;)
Could this be easily disassembled and stored in a way that it doesn't degrade while in storage? If so, could the same design techniques be applied to building MRAPs that don't end up as military surplus?
It looks like you'd need a cat C license to drive this (in UK), alas.<p>Still, the DIY-er in me loves the idea, hope they do well and get even cheaper.
So about the same price as a <i>brand new Hilux</i>? Which are already produced 100's of thousands per year and are already all over the place in the developing world.<p>I've got much respect for Gordon Murray but did I miss something here? At something like 1/3 the price he might be on to something, but like this, its just another rattle-trap diesel truck only suitable for 3rd world use. They've got lots of those already. Plus at a cost that high to start with, I'm not sure "you can save a few bucks in shipping if you put it together like an IKEA couch" is actually a feature.
If developed world works anything like 90s Poland - people would prefer used cars with more features/better comfort to a new car with less features/worse comfort.<p>For carrying capacity it's nowhere near a tractor + a trailer combo. And also tractor can drive anywhere, even places that 4WD won't, not mentioning weird 2WD.<p>It seems to be a cool project not solving any particular problem.
Part of the immature me wishes we don't invent new <i>diesel</i> trucks for developing countries, especially not with the goal of making it accessible to massive new markets. Doing so will extremely accelerate the global warming and local cancerigen pollution, both of which are there for the duration of the vehicle line (40 years?). I wish we'd start issuing electric models and portable ...nuclear plants? Solar systems? With wifi? This is childish, but the irresponsible pollution aspect of new diesel vehicles is worth pointing out.
The overall design is a riff of the Steyr Pinzgauer:
<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgauer_High-Mobility_All-Terrain_Vehicle" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgauer_High-Mobility_All-...</a><p>The British Army is using them, so Murray has likely been inspired by it.<p>It was designed for Mountains in Austria, is pretty much unbeatable in tough terrain - just put on chains and gogogo.<p>Original had petrol engines, not diesel to avoid freezing up in winter conditions.<p>As a driver in the Austrian Army we basically learned the whole thing front to back, assemble and disassemble like a rifle.<p>Such a fun ride.