The United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of
the moon landing last weekend and Polaris marked the occasion by unveiling a
replica of the famous Lunar Roving Vehicle. Created in collaboration with the
US Space and Rocket Center in Alabama, the replica is a pretty faithful
recreation as the company worked with a NASA astronaut and members of the team
that worked on the original LRV.
As part of this effort, the company used original 50
year old molds to create the fenders on the replica. The model also has been
equipped with replica brakes and a four-wheel steering system just like the
original.
While the company bills the model as a “near-exact”
replica, it also incorporates a number of components from Polaris’ snowmobiles,
motorcycles, side-by-sides and military vehicles. As you can see in the
infographic, the steering rack was borrowed from the Slingshot while the
lithium-ion battery pack was lifted from a GEM electric vehicle. The replica
also has control arms from an ATV and lights from a motorcycle.
The company didn’t release detailed specifications,
but noted the replica is “much faster than the original.” This isn’t too
surprising as the LRV had four electric motors which each produced 0.25 hp. They were powered by two 36 volt silver-zinc potassium hydroxide
batteries.
The Polaris Lunar Rover Replica was shown at number
of events last week, but it will make an appearance at the Huntsville Public
Library on September 19th. One month later, it will lap the Talladega Speedway
in what will undoubtedly be an out of this world experience.
