We can say it: 50 years later, no brand, neither Land Rover, nor Jeep, has produced a more all-terrain vehicle than this one.
And for good reason, since he is the only one to have rolled on the surface of the moon.
Finally, not quite the only one, since this Lunar Rover left with the Apollo 15 mission was followed by two of its ilk, with the Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 missions.
250 kg
Conceived jointly by GM and Boeing, which had greatly exploded the development budget initially planned, the Lunar Rover met a fairly strict specification: it weighed only 250 kg, could carry 490 kg of load, and could be folded up and stored in a box of barely 450 liters.
And in the absence of air at its final destination, it obviously couldn't be fitted with a V8.
It is therefore a small electric motor of 0.25 hp which drove the 4 wheels, and took the machine to the top speed of 14 km / h.
And autonomy, you will say?
About 10 km.
"Yeah, already ridiculous," say the anti-electrics.
Except that the autonomy was deliberately limited, and for a good reason: the astronauts had to be able to return on foot in the event of a breakdown.
Today, the three Lunar Rovers are still up there, waiting for the man to return to the Moon, and possibly restart them.
It would be the most extreme "barn exit" in history.
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