This Magic School Bus is Big Enough to Take 50 People Across Iceland

Just kidding. It's not really a school bus, but hey, that’s an idea for someone looking for a niche business. What we are really looking at is basically a touring vehicle. But what kind of tour needs tires of that size? A tour of Iceland's glaciers, that’s what kind!

If you know anything about Iceland, you know it's an unforgiving place. A diverse number of terrains include everything from ice, snow, rivers, and rocks or boulders. And if you’re to try and tackle this territory, you’d better be prepared.

The guys at Motor Craft Conversions decided they are the team to take care of Icelandic tours. So they put together their brightest and best to come up with this monstrosity. Once they knew what they’re up against, they knew what they needed, an 8x8 Man-Kat1.

If you don’t know much about Man-Kat1, I can just say their built for heavy duty, military use. You ever seen what tanks and army personnel are transported in? It's usually one of these vehicles that is responsible.

That 8x8 was then taken, stripped down, and refit with everything it needs to carry a group of up to 50 passengers safely through this harsh landscape. After refitting, she comes in at 10 ft (3 m) tall and over 16 tons.

Since Iceland's glacier's are, well, full of ice, it's damn cold. Knowing this, Motor Craft used technology that is meant to keep cold air out, or in depending on how you see things. The reason I say “in” is because the techniques used behind the construction of the passenger cabin are the same as those used in refrigerator doors. Lightweight materials and rigid panels protect passengers from extreme cold.

Another addition to adapt the vehicle to these lands is a live tire pressure control system. Just as the description suggests, it controls tire pressure in real-time. But why? It’s simple. Different terrains require different tires. But seeing as how you’re out in the middle of nowhere, and the temperature outside colder than Jack Frost’s breath, changing tires is not an option.

To combat this constant change, MC installed a system to adapt the already heavy-duty tires to an even larger array of terrains. A lower tire pressure allows the vehicle to go over snow covered areas, while a higher pressure allows for basic rock handling. The neat thing is that the pressure is controlled directly by the driver. But how? Through an app on his phone, from the comfort of his heated cab.

The only company we know of that utilizes this monstrous vehicle is Into the Glacier tours. The need such a vehicle for transporting large groups of explorers through this dauntless territory, and utilize not one, but a total of three of these tank-like school buses.

Now the reason we haven't mentioned much about the interior is because there really isn't one. It is just full of seats and some cabin controls for volume of climate control. We have no mention of even a restroom, so you better eat light if you ever get on one of these.