Wednesday, April 19, 2017

A Love Affair with Land Rover - Londolozi TV

A Love Affair with Land Rover - Londolozi TV  
Londolozi Game Reserve converted one of their game viewing Land Rovers to electric and developed it to the point where it got the attention of Land Rover themselves who then built their own electric Land Rover concept vehicle which they then developed further at Londolozi.

Here is the story of the electric Land Rover from the Londolozi web site. The video of how they developed the vehicle is below.
Londolozi Game Reserve is announcing the first ever Zero Emissions Safari Vehicle…Out of Africa!
Renowned for its pioneering work in conservation development and the creation of the Londolozi Conservation and People Development model, Londolozi now introduces to the Safari industry a vehicle which moves guests silently through the wilderness with a lower carbon footprint than the conventional 4×4.
The Zero Emissions Safari Vehicle is a project that Londolozi has been pioneering for the last 18 months. Starting with 6 months of planning and testing, a test vehicle was imported to complete phase one of the project.
Phase two involved converting an existing Londolozi Land Rover into a prototype electric vehicle with more environmentally friendly batteries. This is currently where Londolozi is at present. We have a fully functional prototype electric Land Rover that is charged by connecting it to a wall plug socket.
The third phase of the project is about further progression towards lighter, longer lasting, eco friendly batteries. This step of the project is also about moving away from the earth’s resources and moving towards solar energy. We are exploring the possibilities of putting up solar panels on the roof of the garages to charge the electric vehicle. This is part of the long term goal of lowering Londolozi’s carbon footprint without affecting the current luxury safari experience.
We are also fortunate to be testing the first Electric Land Rover produced by Land Rover UK and Barkers Performance Products.
Londolozi prides itself on being a constant innovator in the safari industry – always wishing to provide our guests with a fresh experience filled with a warm spirit of hospitality and a deeper purpose to life. You are invited to join us as one of the first safari adventurers to enter the African wilderness in silent observation, enabling a greater connection with sound and silence.
Chobe game reserve in Botswana are also using electric Land Rovers for game viewing. Their vehicles have been converted to electric, I believe without any official involvement from Land Rover.

Unfortunately I can't find any indication that the electric Land Rover is even close to full production. Hopefully this will change soon. I wrote here of the huge benefits of electric game viewing vehicles.

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