Thula Solutions’ new electric safari vehicles aren’t repurposed diesels – they were engineered from the ground up as purpose-built electric safari vehicles designed to get curious tourists, scientists, and park workers closer to the action than ever before.
Calling its new machines part of a more fully immersive wildlife experience, South African startup Thula Solutions’ electric safari vehicles promise effortless dialogue between tour guides and passengers while immersing them in the sounds of nature, as opposed to the sounds (and smells) of diesel engines – but quiet, emission-free running isn’t the only selling point of Thula’s new off-roaders.
The killer app, in this case, is the vibration-free running that makes the machines perfect for ultra high-definition wildlife photography, producing what the company’s website calls, “stunning photography opportunities without the distraction of engine vibrations.”
Those ultra-crisp images will feature calmer, more relaxed animals taken through crystal clear air free from diesel particulate matter – and will probably be different from your aunt’s last safari vacation photos in other ways, too, because the Thula ESV 4×4 (for “electric safari vehicle”) is a serious off-roader that will take tourists just about anywhere they want to go.
Thula Solutions ESV 4×4 gallery
Powering the Thula’s quiet confidence is a purpose-built off-road chassis with long-travel four wheel independent suspension attached to four powered wheels fed by a 225 kW (~302 hp) electric motor drawing power from a 65-kWh battery pack good for a claimed 200-km (~125 mile) range.
That’s pretty poor by EV passenger-car standards, but Thula’s ESV is built for a very different duty cycle, crawling around game reserves loaded up with passengers and gear rather than zipping along between work, school, and home. And, if the Thula’s makers are to be believed, that range is good for up to three full days of operation between top-offs.
The South African company has been developing the ESV 4×4 for several years, with an impressive testing video posted to the company’s YouTube channel three years ago. Since then, the company has begun series production of the ESV, even sending a few vehicle across borders, making Thula an international electric truck brand.
You can see the truck in action in the aforementioned video, below, then let us know if you think the ESV’s tailpipe emissions reductions outweigh the thing’s unmistakable “better to sneak up on and eventually shoot animals with” vibes in the comments.
Thula testing
SOURCE | IMAGES: Thula, via Facebook.
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