It might not be the coolest off-road RV ever, but it’s the coolest RV of 2019. A Czech brand named Torsus has recently launched an off-road bus RV called Torsus Praetorian.
Prior to 2016, the main business focus of the Torsus brand was the provision of international technical assistance services to governments and international organizations such as the United Nations, the US State Department and the European Commission. But in mid-2016 a potential project landed on Torsus. For this particular project, a transportation solution was required, and buses were the ideal vehicle. However, due to the demand situation, it became clear that a regular bus could not meet its particular needs, so the idea was to develop a special 4×4 bus with high ground clearance, hence the Torsus Praetorian. Later, Pulsar Expo sro, the parent company of Torsus, acquired extensive experience in the conversion and sales of special purpose vehicles and provided them to many developing countries.
Although Torsus Praetorian is designed and built in Czech Republic, the customized body of the whole car is provided by MAN chassis company, and it uses MAN’s 6.9L diesel engine with a maximum power of 240 horsepower and a peak torque of 925 Nm. , matched with MAN / ZF 12AS 1210 OD MAN Tip-Matic gearbox, the use of wheel-side reducer makes the ground clearance of Torsus Praetorian no longer affected by the size of the main reducer, making its minimum ground clearance reach 400mm , the maximum wading depth reaches 700mm. For an off-road vehicle, such data is perfect. Later Praetorian was developed as a multi-purpose 4×4 off-road bus, which is used in various industries, especially in high-intensity industries such as mining and drilling, and has since realized multiple configurations to assume different roles and applications.
Today, this chassis has been converted into a hardcore off-road touring car by the original factory, with a khaki-painted exterior and a fiberglass body with Line-X finish. Coupled with the original powerful off-road capability of the chassis, it becomes an A-class RV with full off-road capability. This is a real all-terrain camping bus RV.
The Praetorian is 8450mm long, so there’s plenty of room to stretch weary limbs, and while the actual Praetorian-based motorhome will be built to different specifications, Torsus did provide a sample floor plan to show off the capabilities of this Overlander motorhome.
The four-berth layout includes a comfortable rear bedroom with a longitudinal bed and ample storage space, as well as a convertible dinette. The kitchen is located behind the dining area, with the sink and worktop on one side of the aisle, and the counter and coffee machine on the other. The refrigerator and microwave oven are mixed together, and the bathroom separates the stovetop from the rear bedroom. This is a basic interior layout of this car, which is also the usual layout of Europeans. It is quite different from the layout of our domestic RVs. Provide better privacy space for two individuals who are different from each other.
The interior style is the same as the exterior. If you just look at the exterior, it is difficult to imagine that it is a RV. When you walk into the room, you will realize that it is a RV. As far as the layout is concerned, we have mentioned above that with a length of 8.45 meters, the interior can meet the living needs of 3-4 people. Although the layout is different, the enjoyment brought by the large space is not what ordinary compact RVs can bring. If you like to explore, there are too many places to store equipment in the car. After buying this car, most of the configuration needs to be optional, such as additional facilities such as Wi-Fi, satellite TV and air conditioning, and if the Overlander wants to have extra luxury accessories such as a washer/dryer and an audio system, it is also a must. A later option is required.
Torso’s marketing strategy is to only sell Praetorian bus shells, rather than selling full motorhomes outright. This means that a car may come in many different configurations, perhaps none of which are exactly like the ones above. Based on this fact, coupled with the inherent customary nature of off-road adventure vehicle manufacturing, its price is also completely different, but Torso officially claims that its price is between 210,000 and 250,000 euros (about RMB 1.65 million to 1.96 million).
