People have been making all sorts of crazy custom vehicles since the advent of the automobile. The internet and hepled many custom builders find fans and following from across the world far and wide. Where most of these custom builders keep aesthetics and practicality as their top priorities while building something, some others do things just because they can. The latest car to catch our fancy was made by none other than the lads at Garage 54.
This garage (or workshop) is located in a city called Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia, and has made some strange solutions to vehicles in the past. Yes, some of these vehicles were made to suit the harsh climatic conditions that one would expect in a place like Siberia. More importantly, instead of asking ‘Why’ before starting a certain project, they ask ‘Why not?’. Practical or not, this car is radical for sure. If it works, its not stupid right? But just becuase you can, does it mean you should?
This Lada Sputnik Isn’t A Real 6x6 For More Than One Reason
If we go by the definition, a 6x6 should be a vehicle that has six wheels, and all the six wheels should be powered by the engine if and when needed. To begin with, the vehicle we are talking about is a Lada Sputnik (commonly known as Lada Samara in Europe), and it is essentially a car with four wheels and two axles. Not just that, a typical Lada Sputnik is a front-wheel drive which automatically makes it 2x4. Secondly, this car still has four full wheels... technically. The rear two wheels of this car were cut in half, and then each were given individual hubs.
Doesn’t make sense, right? We thought so too. Being honest, we still dont understand how it works. Mathematically it is technically still a four-wheeler (2 + ½ + ½ + ½ + ½). More importantly, the rear two (or four) wheels aren’t powered by the engine, and they just play along with the front two wheels. These things do make one wonder if this thing actually qualifies as a 6x6, or something else.
Why The Half Wheel 6x6 Design Is Impractical For Cars
That we all knew the moment we set our eyes on it. The rear two wheels are cut in half, and the two hubs on each side are connected using a chain mechanism. This ensures that when one half completes its rotation, the other half is in the exact position to touch the ground. This theory makes sense on paper as the wheel is not a continuous circle but two halves aligned in such a way that there is always something that is grounded to provide traction. Once you start watching the video, you realize that this is not the case at all.
This can be attributed to missing rear suspension, and being driven on a surface that is far from drivable. Also, the tires put on the wheel halves are slightly more than half to provide a smoother transition from one hub to another. But once it starts rolling, the drive quality is anything but smooth. It can be because of the condition of the road or the mechanism that is used to connect the rear two hubs on each side. The transition between one half to another results in a sketchy drive and it might have worked in a situation if the suspension was tweaked along with the other necessary changes. Additionally, the biggest problem surfaced when reversing while attempting to make a three-point turn, the half tire decided to detach from the wheel. So its fine as long as you only have to keep driving straight.
Why Split-Wheel 6x6 Vehicles Don't Work
We all remember the 6x6 Mercedes G63 AMG that Richard Hammond once drove, and it made sense. It was a six-wheeled vehicle where all the wheels were ‘complete’, and were powered by the engine as well. The fact that it worked so perfectly ensured that it was not a cheap vehicle to build and own at $1.5 million. Then there are cars that people make in their backyards, and most of these cars are made for a specific purpose. Recently, someone in Vietnam built a Porsche 918 replica using PVC pipes, at least on the outside.
The Lada Sputnik here transformed by the guys at Garage 54 is more like a physics project that they made just to see if things work as they are expected to be. Yes, it does look hideous, and drives even worse than it looks. But it does feel like a litmus test that will serve as a benchmark in case someone wants to do something like this in the future. It will be interesting to watch someone perfecting this design, or at least try to by eliminating the problems as seen here in this video. However, a better solution for the problem already exists.