Photo: Unicat
You’ve heard quite a lot by now about expedition vehicles. These highly customized trucks can ensure the survival of a limited group of people in remote areas for quite some time, regardless of where that area is on Planet Earth. But how about one that could work on some alien world?
At least that’s what we were once promised by Unicat and the designer of this here contraption. Called MaxiMog, it is supposed to be designed for “exploring this (or similar) planets” while offering all the comfort and amenities of a modern home.
The build is based on a Mercedes-Benz Unimog, and is in fact a modular design that allows for it to be used in a number of ways. For instance, it could be fitted with a UAV (that's a drone), a custom motorcycle, or even a trailer.
Not a single thing of the Unimog was left untouched. For instance, the engine has been swapped for a GM 5.7-liter LS1 V8 good for 360 hp, the suspension replaced with a variable ride height air system, and according to its builders a lot of the “onboard navigation, power, lighting, communications, computation and electro-optics systems were developed specifically for this vehicle.”
And we must admit, seeing all the (aging) gadgets inside the thing (check the gallery above for details), it does look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Being so small, the base vehicle is in no way capable of accommodating people for long periods of time. This is where the trailer comes in: it can have, depending on specification, enough space (it can measure up to 265-inches/6.7 meters long and 85.5-inches /2.17 meters wide) to host everything you usually find in an expedition vehicle.
The first iteration of the MaxiMog was first shown all the way back in 2001, and it was supposed to travel to California’s Death Valley and Lake Powell for some tests. Somehow, the machine lost its bearings along the way, and we are now uncertain what happened to it.
The MaxiMog is still listed on the Unicat website under the special vehicles category.
The build is based on a Mercedes-Benz Unimog, and is in fact a modular design that allows for it to be used in a number of ways. For instance, it could be fitted with a UAV (that's a drone), a custom motorcycle, or even a trailer.
Not a single thing of the Unimog was left untouched. For instance, the engine has been swapped for a GM 5.7-liter LS1 V8 good for 360 hp, the suspension replaced with a variable ride height air system, and according to its builders a lot of the “onboard navigation, power, lighting, communications, computation and electro-optics systems were developed specifically for this vehicle.”
And we must admit, seeing all the (aging) gadgets inside the thing (check the gallery above for details), it does look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Being so small, the base vehicle is in no way capable of accommodating people for long periods of time. This is where the trailer comes in: it can have, depending on specification, enough space (it can measure up to 265-inches/6.7 meters long and 85.5-inches /2.17 meters wide) to host everything you usually find in an expedition vehicle.
The first iteration of the MaxiMog was first shown all the way back in 2001, and it was supposed to travel to California’s Death Valley and Lake Powell for some tests. Somehow, the machine lost its bearings along the way, and we are now uncertain what happened to it.
The MaxiMog is still listed on the Unicat website under the special vehicles category.
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