Tag Archives: Race2Recovery

Main Battle Tank Logistics – MAN LKW 10 t mil gl KAT I (8×8)

In 1962 the German federal agency for defence technology and procurement (Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung, BWB) suggested the bidding companies for a new range of amphibious 2,3 and 4 axle vehicles with a 4 – 10 ton payload form a common development bureau to spread the huge development costs of the project.

Under the leadership of MAN (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg) it’s partners that included Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD), Büssing, Krupp and Henschel formed the “Common Bureau of the German Utility Vehicle Industry” (Gemeinschaftsbüro der Deutchen Nutzfahrzeugindustrie) in 1964 to meet the demands of the project.

LKW 10 t mil gl KAT I (8x8), Ben Gott, Charlie Sincock, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By 1976 when the first KAT 1 was delivered the requirements for the vehicles whose primary role was Main Battle Tank (MBT) Logistics, keeping up with them off road to supply them with ammunition and fuel, had altered ditching the amphibious requirement, but keeping the off road requirement meaning the vehicles needed a 1.2 m / 4′ fording capability like the main battle tanks they were intended to supply.

To date 3 generations of MAN KAT 1s have been built with payloads capacities of 5 tons for the 4×4 up to 15 tons for the Long Wheel Base 8×8 developed for the German Air Force, an example of the latter was used by Porsche as one of their support vehicles on their Dakar team in the 1980’s.

LKW 10 t mil gl KAT I (8x8), Ben Gott, Charlie Sincock, Goodwood Festival of Speed

One of the more interesting aspects of the Dakar Rally which I believe is unique to the event is that all support vehicles for the car and motorcycle entrants are competitors in a support vehicle category.

The Race2Recovery team used the short wheel base MAN LKW (Lastkraftwagen) 10 t mil gl (militarisiert geländegängig – military, cross country) KAT I ( seen in these photographs crewed by Ben Gott and Charlie Sincock at Goodwood Festival of Speed, in their successful 2013 attempt on the Dakar.

LKW 10 t mil gl KAT I (8x8), Ben Gott, Charlie Sincock, Goodwood Festival of Speed

First registered in the UK on the 19th of December 2005 I believe this example, the largest vehicle ever seen on the Goodwood hillclimb, is powered by a turbocharged 12 litre / 732 cui Deutz V8 producing 320 hp that drives all eight wheels with an automatic 16 speed gearbox up to a theoretical top speed of 80 mph.

On the 22nd of February 2010 a merger between the military division of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG and Corporate Sector Defence of Rheinmetall AG was rubber stamped by Bundeskartellamt (German Government Mergers Dept) with a new entity Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH, or RMMV, that is now responsible for building the latest version of the LKW 10 t mil gl KAT I (8×8) which is known as the HX range.

Thanks for joining me on this “Main Battle Tank Logisitics” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Beyond Injury Achieving The Extraordinary – Qt Wildcat 500 DKR

The Wildcat is a space frame off road competition vehicle developed by Bowler in Derbyshire who sold the production rights to Qt Services based in Plymouth in December 2007. Qt Services appear to have rebranded themselves Wildcat Automotive who now offer a range of off road vehicles themselves, apparently in competition with Bowler.

Today’s featured 120 mph Qt Wildcat is powered by a Jaguar derived 280 4 litre / 244 cui V8 which drives the wheels on both the Land Rover Defender derived solid axles through a Sadev SCL90 6-speed transmission.

The 365 litre / 80 gal imp / 96 gal US fuel tank gives the Wildcat a range of between 400 to 600 miles and the engine can run on petrol between 88 – 98 octane

Qt Wildcat 500 DKR, Capt Tony Harris, Goodwood Festival of Speed

PUD 755, registered on 19th September 2005, is part of a fleet of Wildcats run by the Race2Recovery Offroad Rally Raid Team founded in 2011 by Capt Tony Harris, a former Infantry Officer for the Royal Fusiliers and Cpl Tom Neathway as a platform for ex military personnel with combat incurred life changing injuries to exercise their adventurous spirit in off road competition while raising funds and profile of the Help for Heroes Charity and Tedworth House Personnel Recovery Centre in Tidworth, Wiltshire, where many injured in combat recover from their injuries.

Race2Recovery, who’s strap line reads “Beyond Injury Achieving The Extraordinary”, achievement’s include first disabled team to; complete the Turaeg Rally in 2012, complete the Dakar Rally in a car, Qt Wildcat500 DKR, 2014, complete the Dakar Rally in a Truck 2014, complete a British Offroad Rally 2014, 2nd place overall in the Defender Challenge 2014 and last year to win a British Offroad Rally Championship Event.

Thanks for joining me on this “Beyond Injury Achieving The Extraordinary” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a chain drive Mercedes Monday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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