The Scarabee comes with a hybrid powertrain and can run on pure electric power to avoid intimating of its presence
by Sidd Dhimaan, on LISTEN 02:07There’s no dearth of military vehicles these days and each one comes loaded to the gills in terms of equipment. Well, let’s add one more vehicle to this list, coming from a company called Arquus. The company has come up with a light armored vehicle called the Scarabee and it comes with a hybrid powertrain, machine guns, and a crab-walk feature that we recently witnessed on the GMC Hummer EV as well. Pretty neat, huh?
The Scarabee Can Crab-Walk Without Making Any Noise
Arquus was originally the Renault Trucks Defense and it launched the Scarabee at the IDEX 2021 in Abu Dhabi. It is powered by a hybrid V-6 setup that makes 300 horses from the engine and 94 horses from its electric motor. The electric motor helps it move around like a silent beast and also reduces the thermal signatures. It comes packed with a 12 kWh battery pack and has a top speed of 81 mph. The Scarabee also comes with four-wheel steer features that allows it to move diagonally like a crab.
| Powertrain | V-6+electric |
|---|---|
| Engine power | 300 HP |
| Electric power | 94 HP |
| Battery | 12 kWh |
| Top Speed | 81 mph |
The French company will offer the Scarabee in three different versions – Patrol SAS, Reconnaissance, and Security/Counter-Terrorist. Depending on the trim, the vehicle comes with a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 30 mm chain gun. The Scarabee measures 206.7 inches in length, 82.7 inches in width, and 78.7 inches in height. These are rather compact dimensions for a military vehicle that allows it to be transported on a C-130 airplane or carry on a helicopter. It rides on 20-inch wheels wrapped in 365/80 section tires.
| Length | 206.7 inches |
|---|---|
| Width | 82.7 inches |
| Height | 78.7 inches |
The Scarabee can seat four people including the driver.
The driver’s seating is quite forward and this allows a 200-degree view for good visibility. There are no interior specs and details given, but you can expect the basic features to be present. Even the details regarding its shell strength, armored glass’ rating, etc. are not provided. As for the pricing, you can expect it to run well into the six-digit figure.
Source: Arquus Scarabee