Paramount’s new Marauder offers serious shock protection

Series 17, Episode 1 of the BBC’s top-ranking Top Gear show was a hit, quite literally, for the Marauder. In a show of brute force, the SA-built machine smashed through walls in Joburg, drove over cars and survived a landmine blast.

Now, the Cape Town-based Paramount Group, which builds the vehicles out of its Midrand-based factory has introduced the Marauder Mk 2 that boasts a variety of new features, including enhanced crew capability and performance.

It also sees the introduction of a universal hull, interchangeable for left- or right-hand drive with dashboard modules and steering wheel components, and can be transformed in “less than two hours”, according to the company.

Dubbed the World’s Most Unstoppable Vehicle by Top Gear, the new Marauder can be configured as an armoured personnel carrier or as an infantry combat vehicle by adding appropriate weapon systems.

It also features day/night vision devices and extra sensors for diverse missions such as peacekeeping, border patrol, counterinsurgency or national defence.

The Marauder’s double-skin armour offers protection against mines and ballistic fire for its crew of two in the front and up to eight fully equipped soldiers in the rear seated on new and specially designed anti-blast seats, which prevent injury from the extreme acceleration of a blast from the side or underneath.

The vehicle can cruise at 110km/h and remains fully operational in extreme conditions — from -20°C to +50°C — and can be deployed with efficiency in long-range or quick-reaction operations. Its exceptional off-road mobility and preparation for easy airlift via a Lockheed C-130 Hercules turboprop or Chinook helicopters is standard.

“The Marauder is one of world’s most iconic and toughest armoured vehicles. We are very proud of its well-deserved reputation and our latest advancements present significant benefits to its performance, crew capability and the customer,” says Deon Grobler, CEO of Paramount Land Systems.

“We can now manufacture vehicles for stock purposes as opposed to manufacturing based on customer orders, delivering faster solutions for those partners with urgent demands, whether they are operating right- or left-hand drive vehicles.”