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Written by Tom Ford
The problem with a tank is that it"s the size of a tank. Obviously that"s generally an advantage, what with tanks needing to do tankish things like carry massive guns and literal tonnes of armour, but they"re notoriously bad at wandering around without accidentally crushing buildings and squashing landmarks. The same physical restrictions also mean that they"re not very sprightly and generally terrible to parallel park, and you tend to inform everyone in a 30-mile radius that you"re on the move just by starting up. So what do you do if you"re a back-country border guard or anti-smuggling operation that has to deal with people who react badly - with guns - to you interfering with their operations? You get yourself a Plasan Yagu, that"s what. A tiny armoured car that is basically Judge Dredd"s weekend quad. Built by composite and armour specialists Plasan (the people that made the carbon bits for the Viper ACR, Corvette C7 Stingray and Ford GT500KR), the ultralight tactical armoured vehicle" Yagu is based on an Arctic Cat Wildcat 4 1000, so it"s not very big. It"s got a 95bhp 1.0-litre V-twin and an auto box with selectable two or four-wheel drive, as well as an electric front diff lock and decent ground clearance and axle travel, so it can clamber about with impugnity. But what it"s also got, is 360-degree B6+ level armour that, for the first time, has 3D surfacing rather than the usual completely flat panels. Which means it looks a lot cooler than the usual armoured box, and opens up the idea that armoured cars might actually have an element of styling rather than simple utility. It"s also got an integrated drone and a remote-controlled light weapon system mounted on the roof, which makes it a touch serious. But if you"re chasing armed drug smugglers through the bush, it also makes a heap of sense. The scalpel to a tank"s hammer.
Date written: 25 Apr 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 11629
The problem with a tank is that it"s the size of a tank. Obviously that"s generally an advantage, what with tanks needing to do tankish things like carry massive guns and literal tonnes of armour, but they"re notoriously bad at wandering around without accidentally crushing buildings and squashing landmarks. The same physical restrictions also mean that they"re not very sprightly and generally terrible to parallel park, and you tend to inform everyone in a 30-mile radius that you"re on the move just by starting up. So what do you do if you"re a back-country border guard or anti-smuggling operation that has to deal with people who react badly - with guns - to you interfering with their operations? You get yourself a Plasan Yagu, that"s what. A tiny armoured car that is basically Judge Dredd"s weekend quad. Built by composite and armour specialists Plasan (the people that made the carbon bits for the Viper ACR, Corvette C7 Stingray and Ford GT500KR), the ultralight tactical armoured vehicle" Yagu is based on an Arctic Cat Wildcat 4 1000, so it"s not very big. It"s got a 95bhp 1.0-litre V-twin and an auto box with selectable two or four-wheel drive, as well as an electric front diff lock and decent ground clearance and axle travel, so it can clamber about with impugnity. But what it"s also got, is 360-degree B6+ level armour that, for the first time, has 3D surfacing rather than the usual completely flat panels. Which means it looks a lot cooler than the usual armoured box, and opens up the idea that armoured cars might actually have an element of styling rather than simple utility. It"s also got an integrated drone and a remote-controlled light weapon system mounted on the roof, which makes it a touch serious. But if you"re chasing armed drug smugglers through the bush, it also makes a heap of sense. The scalpel to a tank"s hammer.
Date written: 25 Apr 2018
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 11629
