Fast Five’s Tank SUV- The Gurkha F5
People want to know, what’s that Tank SUV in the newest Fast and the Furious installment – “Fast Five”? We’ll take a quick look.
Unfortunately, I had mistakenly identified the Tank SUV as a custom version of Conquest Vehicles’ Knight XV in my movie review of “Fast Five”. This is incorrect. The Knight XV is CV’s luxury interpretation of the civilian version of company AAVI’s Gurkha F5 UPDATE 3/12/12: AAVI is now Terradyne Armored Vehicles. Also unfortunate is how difficult it is to find photos of the Gurkha F5. Thankfully the Knight XV is basically the same thing minus the super aggressive look of the Gurkha (yes, the knight XV is still very aggressive, but come on, LOOK at the Gurkha).
When the H1 Hummer first rolled onto the scene of Michael Bay’s smash hit “The Rock”, I knew I’d be seeing tons of people driving around in them and that’s exactly what happened. While it’s not my style, I still can’t help but gawk whenever I see an H1 drive by. Cars are the new horses, and every warrior wants one more badass than the last. Life evolves and so these days are no longer the age of such warriors anymore, and their absence has allowed Soccer Moms to get together and sprinkle powered sugar and tampons over just about every badass thing in America. With that movement came the H2, and there went any and all of my interest in anything from the company Hummer.
Well, Armet Armored Vehicles Inc. is an exception to that rule. They are a Canadian based company that has a branch in Danville, Virginia. They are also not afraid to intimidate and offend those not fortunate enough to own one of their over the top TANK SUVs. In this troubled economy of high gas prices and low employment, AAVI realizes that hey, if you’re going to spend a boat load of money on a vehicle, it should be more than just a vehicle. The H1, as militant as it looks, is in no way bullet proof and cannot provide any kind of protection from ballistic threats. Who needs a bullet resistant SUV? Well, you’d be surprised. There are several hundred people in about a thirty mile radius of where I live that assign personal body guards to their children. My guess? If you have bodyguards for your children, perhaps the money spent on buying an unprotected vehicle would be better invested in something that not only can stop a threat, but deter it in the first place with sheer intimidation.
This brings us to the point in the movie “Fast Five” where Dwayne Johnson pulls up in what looks like some sort of Tank-SUV Hybrid. The vehicle is the Gurkha F5 (eh hem, apologies to AAVI for my earlier mistake). The Vehicle is built from a Ford F-550 Super Duty 4 Wheel Drive Platform and has a V10 6.7L Engine with 400 horsepower (there will also be a V8 available). The whole package weighs around 7 tons.
Update: 6/2/15 The Gurkha product line has been expanded to three separate units. The LAPV resembles the F5 most closely now and comes with a 6.7L V8 Turbo Diesel Engine with 300 Horse Power, 660 foot pounds of torque, 6 speed automatic transmission and 40 gallon fuel tank. The two other models have the same engine.
A lot of people talk about manual transmission, but in tactical situations it is common under fire to drive with one hand, or for the passenger to drive the vehicle if the driver is injured, this is asinine with a stick drive, transmission engine is the way to go if it gets that bad.
Also, it’s worth noting that AAVI is now Terradyne Inc. find them at http://www.terradyneinc.com –end update.
What’s so interesting about this ride is regardless of how rugged it may seem, it will be available with many “luxury” options such as custom interiors to purchaser’s spec including custom colors, DVD/Blu-Ray player and video game console as well as communications packages to create a “mobile office” for the business class buyers.
The Gurkha Tank-SUV was released in conjunction with the “Fast Five” movie release, however the company is slow to market the vehicle and there is very little promotional material. Luckily, minus the black, the interior of the Knight XV is pretty much the same thing, without the extreme customization options of the Gurkha F5. So you can get a feel for what the interior looks like for now until AAVI releases more photos of their product.
So what you see in this picture is one of many different possible configurations. I’m sure Mini Bar and more are also possibilities. It will definitely put you in a more luxurious position than any regular tank or armored personnel carrier’s interior.
Security features include infrared cameras, joystick controlled search light, five door configuration, one being a rear exit, run flat tires, ballistic protection (discussed later) armored grille and ballistic windows. The Knight XV offers all of this, however the Gurkha F5 also offers your choice of turret (ha ha, I’m not joking, the laughter is just me being overjoyed at the possibility of a manned turret on the way to see a movie for my next review… ha ha) belly- blast protection to improve your chances of surviving an I.E.D. along with your choice of standard or automatic and right or left hand drive. It’s much more intimidating than an H2 and yet is roomier on the inside, with more comfortable seating and extra leg space, which is a plus.
Its armor level is CEN EURO NORM 1063 B7+… I have no idea what the means. I did a little research into what it can stop and the short answer is it will stop everything from a 9mm handgun to a Dragnov Rifle, AND, this is amazing… .50 Caliber BMG threats! For those who don’t know: America’s Barrett .50 is used mainly as an anti material weapon… which means there’s snipers that go out into the battlefield… to kill tanks. Granted, they use fancy rounds with depleted uranium tips and incendiary cores, which this ride won’t stop either. But the basic .50 BMG full metal jacket ammunition would punch right through a Knight XV based on stats from the conquest vehicles’ website, not true for the Gurkha F5.
Custom Rims, executive interior, aggressive “Don’t even try it” exterior, Cadillac-style angular/faceted body design, tank-like appearance and yet still D.O.T. approved while being able to stop just about any threat that comes your way, all while playing video games, watching TV or running your business from a “mobile office”. It sounds like a dream come true. Don’t cringe too much at the roughly $450,000 price tag depending on selected options. Hey, you can shoot through an entire Lamborghini with a 9mm pistol, so if you’re going to spend what some people make in a decade on a ride, ya might as well get something a little more functional.
The Gurkha F5 available now:
http://www.aavi.com/?page_id=355
For the same look in something a little less over the top, check out Conquest Vehicle’s Knight XV
http://www.conquestvehicles.com
Thanks for reading,
Kephra
kephrarubin.wordpress.com
Check out a detailed look at the Off Road Cars from Transformers Age of Extinction
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oh hey, thanks so much! Have you seen my recent posts? I think I’m finally starting to get really coherent thoughts worked out and the photography I’ve been doing seems to help a lot. It might even help inspire you, I’m not sure, I notice it’s easier to write now adding in other creative elements.