Making good on the tired clichd of "turning on a dime," Jeep wowed the media audience with its amazing Hurricane. This phase of a three-vehicle press conference began with a fellow driving an HPI Savage radio-controlled nitro truck up a ramp and up on stage. With a little ribbing from Dieter Zetsche about "what separates men and boys is the size of their toys," the Chrysler group CEO grabbed hold of an oversized controller. From behind the stage an engine rumbled to life, then a second. The massive, carbon-fiber-intensive Hurricane roared on to the stage, with its twin Hemi V-8 engines producing over 650 combined horsepower. Not needing a turntable, the Hurricane was able to rotate each tire enough to not only drive in a circle, but to spin on its own axis. Zipping `round and `round like a toy, it was definitely a big boy's toy. Radical approach and departure angles, obscene horsepower, 37-inch tires, and all-wheel-steer make this a true off-roaders dream machine. During the build up, Jeep engineers registered several patents.
While twin-engined sport/utes may not catch on, we expect development will continue on an answer to GM's QuadraSteer and hope it has application on an ultimate off-roader of the future.
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