Are you mourning the loss of the Mercedes-Benz 6×6 SUV? Don’t worry, the Russians are here to offer you their condolence. That condolence is called the Avtoros Shaman 8×8. The Shaman 8×8 is an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) of biblical proportions. Afterall, it is made by the Russians and they have never heard of the word ‘small’ or ‘compact’. Where Mercedes-Benz had fitted only six wheels on their infamous 6×6 Merc, this Russian comes with eight! Obviously, the former carried the prestigious 3-pointed star, but who cares about that, right? At the end of the day, the Russian Shaman boasts of more wheels and is much bigger than the miniscule Mercedes-Benz 6×6.
Is that a toy next to that wheel? Oh no, that’s a fully grown man.
Let’s talk dimensions here. The Shaman 8×8 is 6-metres in length, 2.5-metres across and 3-metres in height. With that kind of proportions, you would probably want to stay away from a low-slung bridge or a narrow city street. The latter won’t be an issue in this ATV, though. That’s because, if you get frustrated waiting in a traffic jam, you might as well bully your way through the mess of tiny hatchbacks and Hummers. Nobody would want to be pulverised by this all-powerful mammoth of a vehicle.
Not very handsome, but who cares. The colour scheme is fancy, though.
Talking of power, the Avtoros Shaman 8×8 is powered by an Iveco F1C 3.0-litre turbocharged oil-burner. However, unlike the AMG nuke found under the bonnet of the Mercedes 6×6, this motor churns out a more modest 146 horsepower. Also, there is no automatic twin-clutch wizardry going on here. The Shaman 8×8 employs a simple, yet rugged 6-speed manual gearbox to handle all the transmission duties. Because of all of these, erm.. shortcomings/deficit in power, the Shaman will not do over 250 km/h like the AMG powered Merc. The top speed, if you can call it that, is a yawning 80 km/h.
Luxurious? Maybe not. Commanding? Certainly, yes.
Unlike most vehicles you come across, the driver of the Shaman 8×8 sits slap bang in the middle. The cockpit is further spiced up by some very fancy switches and buttons, just as you’d find in the cockpit of a fighter plane. You also get 21st century features like a navigation system and that’s about it. You won’t find much in the way of luxury amenities in this cabin. That said, you will never complain for the lack of legroom and carrying seven passengers is an absolute doddle. Also, there are quite a lot of cubby holes and spaces for your passengers to keep their knick-knacks.
Despite the 2.5-metre width, this cabin looks surprisingly narrow.
It also looks surprisingly ill-equipped with tech-goodies.
The Avtoros Shaman 8×8 is equipped with three different drive modes. No, these modes do not increase the power output or alter the stiffness of the dampers, but they do let you choose a few things that are unique to the Shaman. These three settings are reserved for the steering system of this 8-wheel drive monster. The On-Road mode or the normal mode, as we like to call it, uses the front four wheels to drive the Shaman. The Off-Road mode, brings to play rear-wheel steering. This is where the last four wheels contribute in turning this goliath around tight bends, of which, there will be many. Especially useful, when you consider that the Shaman is almost as wide as a city bus! The third and the final mode, is the Crab Mode. As the name suggests, turning this mode on, will turn the Shaman 8×8 into a massive eight-wheel driven crab. This mode allows the Shaman to achieve incredible maneuverability for a vehicle this size. The Crab Mode locks all eight wheels together in sync and then you can parallel park this behemoth without a sweat. Of course, that applies only if you can find a parking spot big enough for this thing.
You can ford rivers or raging torrents with this ATV. So no need to worry about floods when it rains.
The Shaman 8×8 can tackle snow and ice without breaking a sweat. Don’t break your back, though.
If you wake up one morning and suddenly fancy carrying 1.5-tonnes of cargo, the Shaman 8×8 won’t disappoint you. The Avtoros Shaman 8×8 ATV is rated to scale 45-degree inclines/slopes. Hey Avtoros, could we please borrow one of your Shaman 8×8 ATVs for a test drive? If you fancy buying one of these, you will need three things more than any other.
It takes two months to make one of these from scratch.
Firstly, you might want to sell off all of your assets in order to afford one. Secondly, you will have to wait patiently for two months, as that’s how long it takes Avtoros to make one of these. And lastly, you may want to consider moving to Russia. That is the only place that we think, this vehicle would make any sense. Just as a bonus, we will attach a video clip to this page, watch and enjoy. Lastly, let us know what your thoughts and opinions are on the Avtoros Shaman 8×8.
versatile Dooms-Day vehicle .. just like the south african maurauder