It’s started already. Ski resorts across France, Austria and Italy have shut-up shop, forced to close by Covid-19 which, somewhat annoyingly, appears to be able to go up mountains with the same ease as it cuts through cities. But the snow at least is immune, answers only to itself, and falls where it pleases, meaning that if you can get to the slopes without relying on cable cars and ski lifts, you’ll have mile after mile of untouched powder at your disposal. But how to get up the mountain with all your mates and all that gear? Say hello to the pandemic busting Praetorian.
Essentially a fully customisable 4x4 minibus, the Praetorian is a 6.9 litre, diesel powered, eight speed 290hp beast with enough ground clearance to get you through 900mm of water, and traverse a 35 degree angle sideways without rolling. And that’s just the basics. Built by Czech company Torsus, the brilliance of the Praetorian is that you can kit it out for almost any occasion, from a police riot van (edgy) to a go anywhere ski bus (Huzzah!). The ski format has eighteen seats, a wet storage area for boots and a full spec kitchen at the back, so you don’t die of hunger when you realise that not only are the ski lifts closed, all the restaurants are shut too.
And when the snow melts, come spring, you can take out all the seats, turn the front half into a command centre and the kitchen into a motorbike garage, and you are ready to go explore literally anywhere on the planet. Torsus will do the full spec for you, and if you fancy one for a spot of adventure, but don’t really want it sitting on your drive for the next five years, you can rent them by the month. Prices start at £138K for the empty shell, moving up to £170k for a full spec ski bus. To the slopes!
Find out more here: www.torsus.eu
