The Atlas EV is the world’s first fully electric amphibious 8×8 XTV, and it can be yours for just $50,000.
You may be asking why. Why not!
We are seeing new electric vehicles come to the market almost every week now, so it was just a matter of time until we saw an amphibious electric vehicle.
And I’m not talking about a military vehicle here, but an actual recreational amphibious electric vehicle that anyone with $50,000 burning a hole in their pocket can buy.
Argo, a Canada-based company manufacturing “extreme terrain vehicles,” is behind the new Atlas EV.
It already offers a wide array of fossil fuel-powered off-road vehicles, including amphibious ones, but the Atlas EV is their first all-electric one. The company describes the vehicle on its website:
Built with a legacy of Go Anywhere ingenuity and optimized with over a decade of distinguished research and development within the electrification and unmanned sector. ARGO, the world leader for amphibious extreme terrain vehicles is proud to bring you the Atlas EV. The world’s first fully electric amphibious 8×8 XTV. Outfitted with a single-drive electric motor generating 107ft-lbs of torque, this fully electric amphibian is equipped with 28 kWh of battery power with enhanced regenerative braking. The advanced hill ascend/descend assist allows this machine to stop on and turn on a dime while on inclines or declines.
Argo doesn’t elaborate on the range of the vehicle. It is a heavy and inefficient vehicle to have just a 28 kWh battery pack, but with a limited speed of 25 mph (40 km/h) on land and 3 mph (5 km/h) on water, it should still be able to travel decent distances.
The Atlas EV is a four-seater, but it turns into a two-seater if you take it on the water.
Its load capacity on land and water is quite different: 437 lb. (198 kg) on land and 237 lb. (107 kg) on water.
The Atlas EV can be recreational, but also functional as it is equipped with an “internally recessed 3,000-lb. winch that provides a sleek, low-profile design while being fully functional.”
The vehicle is equipped with 12-inch touchscreen to access all the vehicle’s information.
Argo describes the system:
Acting as a command center for the Atlas EV, the centralized 12-inch touch screen is integrated with vehicle location technology, intelligent terrain mapping, on demand vehicle health reporting, inclinometer, rearview back-up camera, hi and lo beam indicator and digital gear indicator. This comprehensive display offers a whole new meaning to “bells and whistles.”
The system is equipped with a decent number of off-roading features:
It is basically equipped with all the same features Argo is known for in its XTV vehicles, but there’s one thing where its Atlas EV differs significantly from the others, and that’s the price.
At $50,000, its first electric vehicle starts at about $15,000 more than its next most expensive 8×8 amphibious vehicle.
With just a 28 kWh battery pack and a 107 kW motor, that’s going to be hard to justify for most people, but you do get an amphibious zero-emission vehicle, and that’s hard to find.
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