UNI-CAT

The UNI-CAT is an amphibious, track-capable utility vehicle developed by Peter Hartley's Magic Cats, "The Modification and General Invention Company" (the name also stands for "Carriage All Terrain System"). Off road it has eight wheels, six of them driven, and on the road it runs as a street-legal 4x2.

Design

The UNI-CAT is 3.9 m long, 1.9 m wide and 1.2 m high, weighs 1,100 kg empty and carries 1,200 kg. Its body is built entirely from folded metal sheet, cut by CAD-CAM or by hand. Suspension is fully adjustable and independent. Depending on the drive mode, it steers conventionally, by skid-steering or by a mix of the two. When rubber over-tracks are fitted it uses skid-steering only, through a final 2.5:1 reduction. The rear-mounted engine gives about 110 kW per tonne and a claimed top speed of 150 km/h. The standard drive is direct, but the modular layout allows hydrostatic, electric or hybrid drive, and with hydrostatic drive it could even run a walking-leg drive unit. Standard equipment includes a remote control with 50 m range, compressed air, a 40-litre drinking-water tank, 208 litres of fuel, two side lockers, dual batteries and radiators, and steering positions for left- or right-hand drive. Many parts are interchangeable left to right or top to bottom.

Emergency vehicle

The removable load deck converts into a 1.8 x 1.2 m trailer. Using the 13 hp auxiliary engine and parts carried on the vehicle, it can also become a three-wheeled emergency vehicle capable of 40 km/h. The auxiliary engine can also run pumps or generators, move the UNI-CAT at 10 km/h on one driven wheel if the main engine fails, or drive the propeller in the water. The designer intended the UNI-CAT as a platform for anything from weapon systems to cherry pickers and tipper bodies.