Polaris and Bafna Healthcare showcase Ranger 6X6 Ambulance

Polaris, a North American company best known for its range of ATVs and Snowmobiles, has teamed up with Bafna Healthcare, to develop an ambulance variant of the Ranger 6X6 800 ATV. The ambulance variant of the Ranger 6X6 800 was recently showcased at the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) event at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

The Ranger 6X6 800, as its name suggests, is a versatile ATV that features an 760 cc twin cylinder engine, which is liquid cooled and fuel injected. This engine outputs 40 Bhp of peak power and is mated to an automatic transmission that automatically senses wheel slip and shifts to 6 wheel drive mode, wherein torque generated by the engine is distributed on-demand to all six wheels of the ATV.

In situations that do not require 6 wheel drive mode, the Ranger 6X6's transmission shifts to the four rear wheels of the ATV. The Polaris 6X6 Ranger 800 ATV, in ambulance guise, is designed to ferry patients out of difficult terrains that are inaccessible for regular ambulances. 

The small and narrow footprint and go-anywhere ability of the Ranger 6X6 ATV means that it can operate in both narrow city streets as well as in rural areas with next to no roads. The Polaris Ranger 6X6 is capable of carrying a load of 1 ton while the towing capacity of the utility ATV is also rated at 1 ton. 

With ATVs not endorsed for street use in India, it would be interesting to see where the Polaris Ranger ambulance variant would fit in. With the Gujarat police purchasing ATVs for patrolling duties, exceptions that support the deployment of ATVs in ambulance guise may be created. At present, Polaris imports all its ATVs through the completely built unit (CBU) route. 

CBU imports of Polaris ATVs has meant that these vehicles are pricey and are therefore remain limited to niche segments of the market such as off road enthusiast and hospitality sectors, with low volumes to accompany. As of now, Polaris doesn't have any plans to kickstart local assembly due to the low volumes.