Fiat unveils Hummer-style 4×4
Oh ho, looks like someone’s developed Hummer envy.
This from Channel 4:
Fiat has unveiled an imposing, Hummer-style 4×4 at the Bologna Motor Show: the Oltre Fiat.
It is derived from the Iveco LMV (Light Multirole Vehicle), a military vehicle that is to be supplied to both the British and Italian armies.
The Oltre, however, is a civilian-oriented model. It is designed for maximum off-road capabilities, with few compromises. Its exterior styling is aggressive, but with no superfluous detailing that could impair its progress; even its wheelarches are straight-cut and its door handles recessed, in order to keep the sides flat.
The show car is a crew-cab version, with a long four- or five-seater cabin and a pick-up load bay behind, although it’s safe to assume that other bodystyles and configurations are under consideration.
It is 4,870mm long, 2,050mm tall and 2,200mm wide, with a wheelbase of 3,230mm, which puts it into Hummer territory. Like the military vehicle, it has permanent four-wheel drive, 50cm of ground clearance and three locking differentials. It can tackle lateral gradients of up to 40% and longitudinal gradients of 80%, plus water up to 85cm deep (1.5m with extra inlet and exhaust pipe extensions). However, with independent suspension and coil springs, its ride should not be too unforgiving.
Indicating its on-road intentions, the show car is fitted with low-profile, high-performance Pirelli road tyres.
The Oltre is fitted with a six-speed automatic gearbox and an Iveco 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine; this delivers 185bhp at 3700rpm, and a massive peak torque of 336 lb ft at just 1800rpm. Thought it weighs seven tonnes (and has a three-tonne payload), it’s said to be capable of over 130mph.
Though described as a show car, the Oltre Fiat is a serious contender for production; given its development from an existing product, it will not be expensive to produce. Fiat is no doubt hoping to cash in on the demand in Europe for huge military-style 4x4s, and to broaden the range of vehicles it offers. The Oltre could sit well in the line-up above the compact Sedici and tiny Panda Cross 4x4s also launched in Bologna.
