Photo: SWNS
If you’re going to get into the business of offering taxi services, you might as well think outside of the box in order to get more attention. On that note, why use a regular car when you could be ferrying people along in a giant tank?
This might seem like a rather strange idea, but it’s what one attorney from Norwich, Norfolk, UK, is doing. Merlin Batchelor bought himself a tank online because he thought it would be “fun,” he tells SWNS Media (story via ITV), but he’s since gotten other ideas.
Merlin invested £20,000 (approximately $27,500 at the current exchange rate) in the 1960s FV432 armored personnel carrier that now sits parked in his driveway, next to his Honda Civic, rocking black paint with purple flowers. That amount includes the one year worth of work to refurbish it, so that it’s now a legit people-carrier.
He’s been using it to take his three daughters for rides and to run errands. It’s perfectly road-legal though, with a top speed capped at 20 mph (32 kph), it’s not the ideal transportation solution for when you’re in a hurry. Merlin says he loves the attention he gets in it (of course he does), as well as how it handles potholes on the road. He compares riding it to traveling in a giant glob of jelly.
Given the attention Merlin has gotten for his unusual ride, he’s now looking into options to capitalize from it. Specifically, he wants to turn it into a taxi service, offering it as a vehicle for prom rides and birthday parties. The idea is not new: you can probably find a tank limo just for that in most countries. But Merlin believes it will be successful, especially given the 9-person capacity of the tank, and the fact that he’s fitted the interior with TV, AC and comfy seats.
You can never have too many tanks hauling overdressed teenagers to prom. Or tank taxis with purple flowers, for that matter.
Merlin invested £20,000 (approximately $27,500 at the current exchange rate) in the 1960s FV432 armored personnel carrier that now sits parked in his driveway, next to his Honda Civic, rocking black paint with purple flowers. That amount includes the one year worth of work to refurbish it, so that it’s now a legit people-carrier.
He’s been using it to take his three daughters for rides and to run errands. It’s perfectly road-legal though, with a top speed capped at 20 mph (32 kph), it’s not the ideal transportation solution for when you’re in a hurry. Merlin says he loves the attention he gets in it (of course he does), as well as how it handles potholes on the road. He compares riding it to traveling in a giant glob of jelly.
Given the attention Merlin has gotten for his unusual ride, he’s now looking into options to capitalize from it. Specifically, he wants to turn it into a taxi service, offering it as a vehicle for prom rides and birthday parties. The idea is not new: you can probably find a tank limo just for that in most countries. But Merlin believes it will be successful, especially given the 9-person capacity of the tank, and the fact that he’s fitted the interior with TV, AC and comfy seats.
You can never have too many tanks hauling overdressed teenagers to prom. Or tank taxis with purple flowers, for that matter.
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