In South
Korea, Kia produces all sorts of vehicles that never make it to this
side of the Pacific. Like this military truck, it’s called the Kia Light
Tactical Vehicle, or KLTV for short, and it looks a lot closer to an AM General
Humvee than it does to, say, the Sportage, Sorento, or the new Telluride.
The version currently produced is actually the third
generation of its type, produced primarily for military applications. Like the
original Humvee, it’s built atop a modular platform that allows for a wide
variety of configurations on two wheelbase lengths. So defense procurators can
get them in just the setup they need, with payload capacities as high as seven
tons.
In whatever configuration, the KLTV is motivated by
a turbodiesel engine sending 225 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque to all four
wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’ll climb 60% gradients
and ford rivers up to two and a half feet deep in KLTV141 armored command
vehicle spec.
It’ll do just about anything that a Humvee will, in
short – getting troops where they need to be, hauling all their equipment, and
looking the part in the process. Only instead of being built in Indiana, it’s
built in South Korea.
Of course, it’s not the only one of its type,
either: Italian manufacturer Iveco (once part of the Fiat group) makes one
called the Light Multirole Vehicle (LMV), Spain’s URO offers the VAMTAC,
Venezuela’s Tiuna makes one dynamically named the UR-53AR50, and GAZ produces
the Tigr in Russia.
Even Lamborghini once went after the military market
with the LM002, and Toyota used to make one similar called the Mega Cruiser. So
while AM General’s Humvee may be the most recognizable, and probably the most
prolific, it’s not the only option for this type of multi-purpose military
vehicle.
