PLASAN SANDCAT ARMOURED 4x4
ULTIMATE WARRIOR
British security forces are looking for a new armoured, bulletproof transporter. Julian Rendell tries Israeli firm Plasan’s offering
PHOTOGRAPHY OLGUN KORDAL
Many vehicles claim to be the king of the road, but in the English countryside right now, the Plasan Sandcat is the emperor of all vehicles.
Modestly described in its brochure as a light tactical vehicle, the Sandcat is actually an invinciblelooking armoured 4x4 featuring bulletproof glass and a hardenedsteel body festooned with cyberpunk boltheads, loopholes for weapons and a predator-like face. In everyday traffic, it towers over common-orgarden SUVs and looks totally nails.
Autocar is at the wheel, in a world first, because Plasan’s demonstrator is visiting the UK for evaluation by security forces looking to replace stalwarts such as the Jankel Guardian, which is nearing the end of 20 years’ sterling service.
The bones of the Sandcat are the heaviest-duty Ford F-550 commercial chassis, commonly used in North America as a tow truck and endowed with a huge 8845kg gross vehicle weight that frees designers to load the basic chassis with a bespoke armourplated body plus a squad of six tooled-up police marksmen.
On test is the latest Mk4 Sandcat, which sits on a Super Duty chassis shortened to a 135in wheelbase. It features an easier to build version of Plasan’s ‘kitted hull’, whose modular, easy-to-fit, bolt-on-bolt-off panels can be customised during the design phase and make for easier maintenance at front-line depots.