Terradyne’s Gurkha off-roader SUV is ready for guerrilla warfare

Toronto : Terradyne is a Canadian company that specializes in building an armored, all-terrain vehicle dubbed Gurkha that’s so rugged it makes the Hummer H1 look cuter than a Toyota Yaris. The off-roader has traditionally been aimed at military forces and law enforcement officials all around the globe, but Terradyne is out to conquer new markets with a toned-down version of it designed for mere civilians. Appropriately christened Civilian Edition, the toned-down model is based on the Gurkha RPV. It looks like a murdered-out Tonka truck with a tall front end, huge fender flares, military-grade bead lock wheels wrapped by massive off-road tires and a tall belt line. It starts life as a Ford F-550 pickup truck, but the only visual connection between the two behemoths is that the door mirrors are carried over unchanged. The Gurkha is the ultimate embodiment of function-over-form design. It is equipped with small windows that make it easy to hide out of sight in the event of an enemy attack, a solid metal front bumper that facilitates the task of ramming through gates and road blocks, and a generous amount of ground clearance that allows it to take its occupants as far off the beaten path as they need to go to reach safety. 

Armored from top to bottom, the RPV’s body is capable of withstanding 7.62-millimeter armor-piercing rounds. Worse comes to worse, it can also drive through over 30 inches of water. Power is provided by a Ford-sourced 6.7-liter V8 turbodiesel engine that sends 300 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission and a two-speed transfer case. Fuel economy checks in at roughly 10 mpg, and the aggressive off-road tires limit the roughly 13,500-pound beast’s top speed to approximately 68 mph. The RPV retains the Blue Oval’s drivetrain warranty because the conversion is approved by Ford. Built in Ontario, the Terradyne Gurkha RPV Civilian Edition is on sale now with a base price of approximately $278,000. That’s a relatively affordable price for a vehicle that can seemingly withstand guerrilla warfare, natural disasters, zombie attacks, and the apocalypse.