Bushmaster.

Bushmaster is Perry Engineering's submission for Project Bushranger in conjunction with Stewart and Stevenson of the USA. It shares some components with the US Army's Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) 4x4's and 6x6's, courtesy of the latter connection.

The design is more adventurous than its Bushranger competitors, being of welded monocoque construction and having independent suspension all round. Presumably the centre of gravity is lower and the stability greater as a result.

Two spare tyres are carried, one each side of the rear door which is quite narrow. There are four square roof-hatches and one circular hatch with a gun mount. The occupants' comfort is catered for with bucket seats, air-conditioning and a 270L water supply - serious considerations in an Australian outback summer.

Bushmaster - Manufacturer's Specifications 1996.

• armoured personnel carrier, 2+7seats, rear door + 5 hatches
• loa: 6300mm (hull) 6900mm (spares), width: 2500mm, height: 2650mm (gun ring)
• turning radius: 8.5m (wall)
• weight: 10,000kg (unladen), GVM: 14,000kg
• Caterpillar 3116 ATAAC, diesel, 6-cyls, turbo-charged and intercooled
• transmission: Allison MD3070PT automatic with electronic control, 7 speeds fwd, 1 rev
  2170 at 100km/hr
• suspension: wishbones-coil/wishbones-coil (Rockwell-Timoney), brakes: disc/disc
• tyres: 395/85 R20, fuel-tank: 380L
• Central tyre inflation system (CTIS)
• Gun ring for 5.56 or 7.62 machine gun 1996 -->

Go to the Project Bushranger, Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Military Vehicles pages