Torsus Praetorian is the Off-road School Bus Kids Dream About
School bus design has not really changed over the past several decades, except for some upgrades aimed at improving safety. Also, these vehicles’ field of expertise is pretty much limited to well defined and decently maintained streets and roads.
Now, imagine a rugged, adventurous school bus that could tackle just about any terrain, obstacle or weather condition. That’s exactly what a Czech company by the name of Torsus has done with the Praetorian, which is named after elite soldiers of the ancient Roman army.
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A bit reminiscent of the Mercedes Unimog, only bigger, this unstoppable machine is built on a heavy-duty pickup chassis from Volkswagen-owned MAN. It takes child transportation to the extremes, starting with a giant front brush guard and Michelin tires you would normally see on mining rigs. About a dozen LED lights are mounted on the roof for 360-degree illumination.
Of course, there’s the inevitable stop sign that tells other drivers children are about to cross the road. Inside, up to 35 individual seats are covered in scientific and mathematical formulas, while the large side windows are ideal to explore the surrounding environment.
The Praetorian school bus is powered by an inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 290 horsepower and a massive 848 pound-feet of torque. A custom-built nine-speed manual transmission and beefed-up differentials transfer power to all four wheels. While top speed is limited at 100 km/h (we’re still talking about kids, remember), this off-road bus has the ability to drive through 90 centimetres of water.
So, how much does it cost? Pricing has not been announced and in fact depends on the customer’s specifications, but it’s certainly more expensive than our traditional Bluebirds. By the way, there’s also a minibus variant of the Torsus Praetorian called Terrastorm.
