Drive Experience: Sherp N 1200, the Ukrainian Beast

When we landed up in Manaser in the state of Haryana to experience the Sherp N 1200 model that had been specially brought in from Ukraine by the duo of Jaskirat Singh and Vivek Gujral, we were met with shock.

The tyres of the two Sherp models were completely deflated. We wondered how long it would take to fill them up and what if they were punctured? But when 38 years old Alexey and 24 years of Sergay met us to demonstrate the capabilities of Sherp, our fears were laid to rest when they mentioned that they tyres are filled with exhaust gas and all it takes are a few seconds.

They got into the vehicles, started the engine and switched on a button and within moments the tyres were fully inflated. Interestingly, while car tyres require 30 odd psi of air pressure, guess what the air pressure in these massive tyres are? It’s just 3, yes three psi.  Alexey also mentioned that even if these tubeless tyres are punctured and have nails stuck in them, they can still be inflated and the vehicle can ply normally.

WHAT IS THE SHERP ALL ABOUT?

The Sherp all terrain vehicle or ATV is the best an ATV can ever be. When I landed up in Manesar for the Sherp experience, I kept staring at its mammoth shape and structure. It’s not one of those fancy vehicles with some modern styling and some flashy features, it’s a vehicle which is a best described as a tin box fitted on four mammoth tyres.

But the Sherp has one and only one purpose. And it’s a serious purpose, to take you across almost all kinds of land and water. Yes, it’s amphibious and can slip into water like the way a duck takes to water. Its mammoth tyres keep spinning and because of the tyres’ very unique design, they enable the vehicle to move forward in water.

Alexey informed that the vehicle has its origin in Russia and is now being built in Ukraine from where it is exported to several countries. He and his colleague were in India to showcase the abilities of the product to India’s military and para military forces. After each of their demonstration, the defence folks in India realised that there is no such machine so capable that can carry their unit for search and rescue operations. Be it the coastal areas or the plains or the mountains or the rocky hills, this vehicle was simply a genius.

Vivek Gujral who spoke to Motown India mentioned that the Sherp can easily be localised in India and once that is partly done here the vehicle can be made available at prices around Rs 50 to Rs 60 lakh onward.

THE SPECIFICATIONS

Ideally, the current Sherp can operate in temperatures ranging from minus 40 deg C to + 40 deg C. It can climb an incline at a 35 deg angle or go over a 3 feet obstacle. It has a ground clearance of 24 inches and can travel at a tilt of 30 degrees.

As for its overall dimension, the vehicle has a length of 4002mm, width of 2520mm and a height of 2852.5mm. It weighs around 1200 kg and can accommodate a driver plus 8 passengers  with load at 2400 kg.

The Sherp is not about speed or acceleration, rather it is about overcoming hurdles. Since it has a maximum speed of 40kmph over grass, gravel, sand, peat, moor, marsh, sand, dunes, rocks, snow, ice, climbing from water into the ice etc, there is no speedometer among its several dials. When it comes to moving on water, whether it is ponds, lakes, rivers, , etc the speed is around 6kmph.

The Sherp’s engine is not one of the powerful turbo charged giants you are expecting from such a monster vehicle. Rather it has a very ordinary engine, Doosan D18, an eco-friendly engine that meets Stage 5/Tier-4-final emission standards. It is a 1.8 litre, 3 cylinders diesel engine that produces a peak power of 55hp and a peak torque of 190Nm which in turn is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission from Renault. It has a 140A generator and has a fuel tank capacity of 95 litres. Besides this fuel tank, the Sherp also carries 4 fuel canisters of 58 litres that allows you to drive more than 65 hours of autonomy and 19 hours non-stop running with main fuel tank.

The boxy body is hardtop and the body material consists of steel (frame and bottom, hot dripped galvanized) and aluminium (cabin). As for driving the vehicle around, there is no steering wheel in this vehicle. Turning and braking is done by the two levers that sit on the left side of the driver. The vehicle has a left hand side steering.  The tyre size is a mammoth 71x23x25 inches. The tyres are tubeless and have extra low pressure. The vehicle has pneumatic suspension. The Sherp can achieve a maximum speed (at the top gear) of up to 40kmph and a max speed at low gear or around 2kmpl.

THE DRIVE EXPERIENCE

The Sherp can go where extreme 4x4 vehicles may just not dare to go.  In fact, it’s fair to say that the journey of a Sherp starts where the journey of a 4x4 off roader ends.  We experienced the Sherp in the rocky terrains of Manesar on the hills of Aravalli. The rains had battered the soil and exposed the rocks and boulders around it.

As we drove deep into the hills, we came across freshly formed ponds that could drown a vehicle if it dared to pass through it. But for the Sherp it was a cake walk. It simply used its amphibious skills to wade through the large ponds and with equal zeal climbed on to the hard surface and onto to a steep incline towards another equally challenging terrain.

VERDICT

The Sherp is a fun vehicle, no doubt. It can definitely do some dune bashing or some extreme level of off roading. But this vehicle is ideal for our para military forces who protect our snow capped terrains and our vast shores. Since it’s far more capable that any vehicle that is available on Indian soil, it can prove itself as a great search and rescue vehicle or for transporting an elite rescue team across the worst terrains. It’s time our defence forces think of the Sherp as their friend.