Some Russian dudes, YouTuber AcademeG, have outdone the one-of-a-kind ‘rally-spec’ Bentley Continental GT with respect to the ultimate Bentley off-roading experience. How? By swapping pneumatic rubber tires for a set of custom made tank treads (or tracks?). The self-professed “auto critics” picked up a cheap Bentley Continental GT and proceed to do an engine swap as the original W12 twin-turbo unit had some issues that deemed not worthy saving.
Now this monstrosity, called Ultratank, is drive forth by a Toyota 4.3L V8 motor and had its original Bentley frame and drivetrain removed in favor of a custom frame with a pair of tank tracks. The result is an absolutely crazy ride that does not like going slow. There’s another issue: the rubber treads tend to slip off the roller on hard corners. That means, no pulling donuts with this beast like the Ripsaw EV3-F1 Super Tank. Also, it does not have brakes.
Apparently, you will need to turn the steering wheel back and forth to slow the vehicle down. That said, it does sound like AcademeG has employed a drivetrain system similar to that used by armored personnel carrier (APC) where yokes are using to move the vehicle forward and to turn, and there’s an accelerator to transmit power. In case of the Ultratank, the steering replaces the yokes. However, it is only strictly for turning while acceleration is achieved by depressing the traditional foot pedal.
Now I can see why it doesn’t have brakes and why the only way of slowing down is to yank the steering left and right. By turning the steering wheel left and right rapidly, you are actually slowing down the tracks, albeit having to do it alternately since there’s no provision to “pull” both side simultaneously. Have a look at the build log and the Ultratank in action in the video below.
Image: YouTube (AcademeG) [RU].
Source: Technabob.
