"New" Concept Ice Vehicle from Lotus

[Paul Ward]

I've just come across this thing while looking around the web:



Very cool of course and made by Lotus for what sounds like a rather embarassingly large amount of money (because they won't tell how much).

But will it work?

The idea is far from new and also far from new in Antarctica - I think there was something similar at Halley in the 1960's or 1970's? The fact that there aren't any similar propellor driven vehicles used at all by anyone anywhere ever in Antarctica indicates that maybe it's not the best idea in the world?

However I will stand corrected if it works on anything other than perfectly flat smooth surfaces - it is apparently " light enough to be man-hauled across really rough terrain. " - that's just as well then.

More here: http://www.transantarcticexpedition.com/civ/