Headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, lies Quadro International, a company unlike any other in the automotive industry. Quadro International set out with a vision to revolutionize off-road transportation by creating vehicles that combined the agility of a motorcycle with the stability of a car. The result? The iconic Sherp, a family of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) that have conquered some of the world’s most challenging terrains, from the frozen landscapes of Antarctica to the sweltering sands of the Sahara Desert. The Sherp is not your average ATV. It’s a behemoth of a machine, boasting a massive 1.2-liter turbocharged diesel engine that produces a whopping 136 horsepower. This power is sent to all four wheels through a permanent all-wheel-drive system and a continuously variable transmission (CVT), giving the Sherp the ability to tackle even the most demanding inclines and obstacles. But the Sherp’s true claim to fame lies in its unique suspension system. Each wheel is independently mounted on a hydro-pneumatic suspension arm, which allows for incredible articulation and ground clearance. This means that the Sherp can literally climb over obstacles that would leave other ATVs stranded.
The Original Product
- While the Sherp family has multiple variants such as the ARK 3400, N1200, Pro 1000, UGV etc., Indian Army is focusing on the all-rounder amphibious Sherp N1200.
- The N1200 features a very compact and unique dimensional space – 4002mm Length x 2520mm width x 2852mm height x 2118mm wheelbase and a 600mm ground clearance.
- According to Quadro International, the N1200 is one of the most advanced 4WD All Terrain Vehicles currently operational in the world.
- It is a float anywhere drive anywhere vehicle. The N1200 can crown through dense forests, fallen trees, shaky grounds, gravel, peat, dunes, marshlands, boulders, snow, ice, sand etc. and being an amphibious variant can float constantly at any depths in pounds, rivers, lakes coats and shore, sand frozen waters. It is also the only wheeled vehicle to climb waters onto ice and can overcome standing obstacles upto 1m in height.
- The N1200 is a fantastic all-weather vehicle having endurance from -40 degrees to +45 degrees Celsius, and is operable in dense smoke, fog, blizzards, rain, hurricane, heat and storms.
- It is a good mobility choice for the Army as it can transport upto 9 people or a payload of 1200 kg. Quadro marks its operational cost at $7 per hour which is significantly cheap considering military equipment.
Image Source – Sherpglobal.com
- It has a maximum speed of 40 km/h on land and 6 km/h on water.
- The Sherp N1200 features a Doosan D18 3-cylinder diesel engine. It has a maximum engine power of 55hp and a maximum engine torque of 190 Nm. It has a 6-speed manual transmission. The N1200 has a diesel consumption of 5 to 8 litres per hour. It has a total fuel capacity of 327 litres due to additional fuel tanks integrated in each of the wheel disks.
- Its Skid Steering model deprives the vehicle of costly vulnerabilities to classic steering system and its friction mechanism make steering easier. Equipped with a reliable and simple hydraulic steering system, the driver now needs less physical efforts for turning and manoeuvrability.
- One of the most unique features of the vehicle are the Sherp’s tires. Coming at 71 x 23 x 25 inches, the tires are considerably huge. They are apparently ultra-low pressure tires which are less liable to damage due to their elastic nature. The four wheels are interconnected and make up as a single system that allows inflating the tires with the exhaust gases by pressing just one button. The N1200’s tires have a Quadro Sherp patented design model and its tread provides high level of adhesion to the ground and also allows propulsion in the water. It comes with yet another patented solution of compressor-less tires’ inflation system which enables perfect operation of them no matter the ground and external conditions.
- The bottom of the vehicle is made of DOCOL HSS (High Strength Steel). It reaches a yield point of 1000 MPa and is further coated with zinc which increases the service life. The primary body layers are made with aluminium. For our army applications, Kevlar and composite armour will be added for the military standards and personnel safety from incoming fire. Again before the Army’s requirements of camo or other military standard paints, the chassis and the base models are covered with highly reliable and durable Raptor polyurethane coating to protect them from corrosion and small mechanical damages.
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The Ator N1200
Yep, you read that right. In a surprise move to showcase the newly inducted and to-be inducted specialist vehicles, the N1200 was seen in the 26th Jan 2024 Republic Day Parade in New Delhi joining the likes of the Polaris ATV and Mahindra Armado variants. Gecko Motors is an unlisted firm of Punjab which is now tasked with making the indigenous version of the Sherp. The JSW Group conglomerate entered into the military group with the JSW Defence & Aerospace vertical and acquired 51% stake of off-road vehicle maker Gecko Motors with an unspecified amount in an official press release. Although the license agreement is not totally an open source information, it is believed that the N1200 seen on 26th Jan’s Kartvavya Path Parade is an indigenous licensed version, else JSW wouldn’t have entered the scene without thinking of copyright infringement and other Transfer of Technology issues. Now renamed as JSW Gecko Motors, bagged an offer of 250 Crore INR to manufacture 96 units of the licensed and indigenized version of the Sherp N1200, which is now branded as Ator N1200. The Ators will be manufactured in the newly set-up JSW Gecko’s manufacturing facility in Chandigarh, Punjab. The Sherp-Ator N1200 deal marks yet another milestone for the modernization of infantry mobility for the Indian Armed Forces.
