A year to the day from its formation from what was Renault Trucks Defense, France’s Arquus has revealed more details of the largely hidden development of its Scarabée armoured vehicle.
At a select innovation-focused event on 23/24 May, held at the historic Linas-Monthlery autodrome 30 km south of Paris, Arquus confirmed to Jane’s that, since the Scarabée was unveiled as a running prototype at the Eurosatory 2018 defence exhibition in Paris, a dedicated team of six engineers have been focusing on its mobility, handling/behaviour and hybrid aspects. Company representatives added that since Eurosatory 2018 the sole prototype built to date has undertaken around 2,000 km of road testing. It was also suggested to Jane’s that, at the current pace, the design could be ready for production in under three years.
In a further disclosure it was revealed that no significant changes to the original rear-engined Scarabée design are currently planned, although it was disclosed that, as an option to the innovative sliding doors currently fitted, interchangeable conventionally hinged doors will be available as these better suit some mission profiles.
In the area of specifications Jane’s understands the gross vehicle weight of the Scarabée is targeted to be around 8,000 kg, with up to 2,000 kg of that available for payload. The central four-seat, fully digitised crew cell features composite armour, while the rear powerpack features zoned protection to reduce the overall weight of the protection package.
The rather futuristic and slightly ‘sci-fi’ look of the Scarabée’s design is, in fact, entirely functional. Much of the shape is driven by the need for stealth, although the rear of the vehicle is focused on optimising air flow for the parallel hybrid power pack. Jane’s
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