Is it the Batmobile? Is it the Death Star? No, it’s Russia’s latest public transport tram and we have to admit, it looks incredible.
In fairness, the tram is built by Uralvagonzavod, or UVZ, who also make tanks for the Russian military, so that might help to explain the tram’s mean looking design.
According to the Russian photojournalist Ilya Varlamov, the tram, which has been named the ‘Russia One’ (R1 for short), is an electric/battery hybrid and it can run for up to 50 miles without being attached to a main overhead power supply. That’s sure to come in handy in the back-arse of Russia.
The Moscow Times reports that the R1 will be able to hold between 190 and 270 passengers, depending on how many carriages are attached and the main chassis will be 100 per cent Russian built.
The R1 is set to go into full production in 2015 and UVZ say they hope to have the trams up and running across Russia before the 2018 World Cup. Unfortunately, UVZ said there may be some design changes made to the tram before final production begins, so don’t be disappointed if the finished product doesn’t look as badass.
For loads more pictures that are definitely worth a look, head over to Ilya Varlamov’s blog here.
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