Fire brigade fleets are usually associated with big fire trucks, off-road-capable vehicles, and motorcycles, but Opel’s latest one-off is quite different. The automaker presented a special version of the Rocks-e heavy quadricycle that joined their fire brigade fleet for the Rüsselsheim plant in Germany.
For its new role, the EV got a fitting
fire-red livery with yellow accents, additional flashing lights, and graphics
with emergency numbers. Inside, firefighters place their tools under the
passenger seat and in the footwell, since the one-off is not based on the Kargo
variant but on the regular Rocks-e. Interestingly, the conversion was
undertaken by firemen with the help of the Advanced Engineering and OSV (Opel
Special Vehicles) departments.
Predictably, the Opel Rocks-e is the
smallest vehicle in the fire brigade’s fleet, measuring 2,410 mm long and 1.39 m wide, with a turning radius of 7.2 m. Still, its role is not to put out fires or to carry heavy equipment,
but to be agile and easily maneuverable in order to reach every corner of the
Rüsselsheim facilities. The small footprint in combination with the
zero-emission powertrain, allows the vehicle to be driven even inside the
buildings when needed, saving time in daily tasks.
The Opel Rocks-e is a sister model to the
Citroen Ami, coming with a tiny 8 hp electric motor and a 5.5 kWh
battery. The top speed is limited to 45 km/h so firemen should be in
no rush, while the limited range of 75 km should be enough for
covering the 1.9 square km of the Rüsselsheim factory. If you
think that EVs are not suitable for the fire brigade you should probably
reconsider, because the LAFD recently took delivery of its first electric fire
truck in North America.
This is not the first time a Stellantis
heavy quadricycle assumes different kinds of duties, since last year, a pair of
Citroen Amis were donated to the police and coast guard on the Greek island of
Chalki.
