Armed Forces in India and around the world use a variety of vehicles. These are not your everyday vehicle and built specifially or specially for the armed force. These vehicles are meant to go anywhere and Renault Sherpa is one such vehicle. Yes Renault, the same manufacturer who sells Kwid in Indian market. Renault had once trid selling their special vehicle Sherpa to Indian armed forces. The Sherpa was showcased at the Defence Expo back in 2012. The Sherpa however only grabbed attention of the National Security Group (NSG) and they decided to acquire it. NSG had acquired Sherpa lite to be used as an APC or Armoured Personnel Vehicle. Here are some pictures of a Renault on our rods.
The Renualt Sherpa seen here in the images is actually not the one used by NSG. It is a different version of the Sherpa. Sherpa is not a vehicle that you would normally see on our roads. As mentioned above, this is not a unit used by the NSG as it comes with a commerical number plate. If not the NSG, whom does this Sherpa actually belong to? The Renault Sherpa is actually owned by Uttar Pradesh government and they have registered this vehicle as a goods carrier. The Sherpa was transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi government.
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The Renault Sherpa seen here is different from the one used by NSG. The one used by National Security Group comes with a fully armoured body. The vehicle has been completely customised for field operations and it normally used in counter-terrorism operations. It gets ladders and appendages that allow the commandos to access or reach places that are normally not possible. Renault Sherpa is built by Renault Trucks Defense, a defence-oriented subsidiary of the French automaker.
As you would have already noticed from the images, Renault Sherpa is a huge vehicle. It is not something that you would miss, if there is one on the road. As this is a huge vehicle, it needs a massive engine to move around with all the weight and personnel. It uses a 4.76 litre turbocharged diesel engine that generates 215 Bhp and 800 Nm of peak torque. The massive engine is mated an automatic gearbox and as this vehicle is meant to go anywhere, it comes with a proper 4×4 transfer case. Renault Sherpa has a payload of 2.2 tons and the version used by the NSG can carry up to 10 personnel (2 in front and 8 at the back).
Renault Sherpa like any other vehicle used by the special forces is a rugged looking machine. It gets a no nonsense design as it is built for a purpose. A fully loaded Renault Sherpa would weigh around 11 tons and it can achieve a top-speed of 110 kmph. This is quite impressive. The Sherpa has a massive fuel tank that offers a range of up to 1,000 km. It comes with additional set of accessories that would enahnce the overall capability of the vehicle. It has a water wading capacity of 1.1 metres and it can be increased up to 1.5 metres if needed. A central tyre inflation and deflation system is also available with Sherpa. Renault Sherpa comes with run flat tyres and ABS as standard. Renualt also offers a civilian version of Sherpa in some parts of the world. Sherpa is huge and it might remind you of Hummer. A civilian version might cost you around 2 crore however it is not available in India.
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