It’s not as stylish, speedy or sexy as his McLaren F1 supercar, but Gordon Murray’s latest vehicle has the potential to become his most beautiful design to date.
Built to make it easier to transport food, medicine or other equipment over tough terrain in remote parts of Africa and other developing areas, the OX is a two-wheel drive truck that can be assembled by hand by non-experts, in fewer than 12 hours.
The OX — which Murray says “ranks above anything else I’ve ever done” including the F1 — weighs 3,500 pounds but can carry almost 4,200 and has enough room to fit up to 13 people.
Billed as “the world’s first flat-pack” truck, the OX runs on a 2.2-liter diesel engine with 100 HP mated to a five-speed transmission, a pairing that allows the OX to travel 620 miles without a fill up.
The idea for the lightweight truck originated with philanthropist Sir Torquil Norman, who founded the Global Vehicle Trust to make the idea a reality and then enlisted the help of Murray. Now that working OX prototypes have finished a slate of testing, Sir Norman is working to fund the humanitarian project.
“OX is about making a difference now, being part of something ground-breaking and unique,” Sir Norman said in a release. “Most of all it presents a real opportunity to make a fundamental and lasting difference to people’s lives. My dream is to one day see an OX in every village in Africa.”
Much as we hate to admit it, that’s a far more noble sentiment than our goal of having an F1 in our garage.
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