"From the East with fury": a Military Division made in KIA Motors

(To Gianluca Celentano)
12/02/18

It may seem strange, or at least for me it was, the fact that the Korean KIA Motors in addition to the historical production of trucks, buses and modern cars, has a Defense Division really complete.

Yes, you understood correctly, the heavy and protected Nato vehicles produced by the CNH circuit of Iveco Defense they have an oriental competitor specialized in the autochthonous production of military vehicles.

But there seems to be a limit. What struck me the most is the line of some vehicles and perhaps also having noticed a limit to the production category that would only apply to the range Light Tactical Vehicle LTV and Medium Tactical Vehicle MTV.

In fact I could argue that it is a range of multi-purpose vehicles among which not all are armored and first line for infantry, such as our Centaur o Arrow, For instance.

Let's see what it is ...

South Korea's eastern house KIA is controlled today by the Hyundai Motor Company but its vehicle manufacturing history begins in 1944.

Just think that, thanks to agreements with Fiat Auto, Kia produced in the last century both the Fiat 124 and the 132, a bit different perhaps but with the same mechanics and with the addition of the Kia brand on the body. Even the historic Peugeot 604 and the American Ford Festiva (not the Fiesta) were produced in those factories to power the eastern market, but also to offer a cheaper end-product to the US market.

At first sight, LTV military vehicles are reminiscent of ours Lynx in its variants and perhaps this makes it clear that the ideal setting of a multi-role vehicle protected and operational is just what Iveco wanted to develop for our production, clearly taking a cue from the Hummer H1.

But there is also a line of military trucks, that is, trucks that are historically absolutely unknown to Kia, which in the East has seen its success thanks also to this production. It is parallel to that of the buses; certainly more spartan and quite hard in their management.

This oriental production, it seems that happens (including engines) in South Korea and in this article I would like to consider the technological aspect certainly reliable but perhaps exceeded by today's standards.

The LTV 182 series is produced in 7 variants that fall within the classification Stanag 4569, but if we start talking about mechanics we risk becoming monotonous, in fact most of the technologies adopted are identical to those of the Lynx, such as the divisible all-wheel drive or its performance off road. I admit it is difficult not having certain data on the beginning of this production, get an idea if it was Kia Military to be inspired by Iveco Defense rather than the Russian GAZ 2330 Tigr or from the American Hummer, or maybe the opposite ... but let's focus on what Kia Motors differs from "Military" production.

I like his line very much, perhaps it is less sober and more captivating than Italian design; in a sense, its front recalls the Hummer but has a more streamlined, dynamic and fast setting than the American H1 and its engine is a CRD turbodiesel from 2.9 cc for 225 horses and well 8 automatic gears. Perhaps Kia with the LTV version wanted to focus on a battle horse, in the world of protected multirole, to be proposed, as usual for the "oriental" at more competitive costs.

There is a particular however that probably penalizes the LTV; its structure is armored with a standard criterion, but this protection seems not to be extended, as in the case of the ballistic kit of the Lynx, a system patented by Iveco.

The aspect that is most reflecting, however, is the lack of coverage on the body, probably vulnerable both in the event of explosions and in the case of very difficult off-road routes. In this regard, it also seems that the interior cell is missing, which frees itself from the frame in the event of strong detonations. If these aspects were confirmed, as I believe, the Korean LTV would be heavily penalized in operational use.

The interiors are very cared, almost derived from cars and with digital displays on the dashboard but this also suggests a certain fragility, if only in case they come into accidental contact with water.

Its turning radius is not bad and takes place in 8 meters and its autonomy is about 640 km with a declared maximum speed of 130 km / h. Its operating temperature has a range from minus 32 ° to plus 43 °, a figure not really encouraging if we consider the more 49 ° of Iveco. The fords have only one meter of vehicle immersion, although this figure is a symbolic value if we consider that with military vehicles you can usually dare a little more than the data reported.

At first sight, the LTV of the Rising Sun is slightly narrower if we compare it to the Lynx or to the 2 meters and twenty of the H1. However, it should be emphasized, and it is not little, the availability of Kia Motors in offering information and data to make known and compare its production.

The M 250, 450, 500 and 1500 series are divided into 22 types of medium-heavy vehicles and are practically trucks with a slightly retro design reminiscent of American trucks, with that characteristic style we have known in the bloody films about Vietnam.

However, the constructive characteristics are indestructible and their variants offer to the Armed Forces both rescue vehicles and advanced control, but not only, in fact some of them are equipped with complex accessories for land reclamation rather than for water purification or logistic assistance.

The most common colors are the mixed vegetated or solid colors for sand-colored vehicles; among these models, which differ from each other for the characteristics of use and the useful capacity, there do not seem to be protected versions and the idea that I have made and that they are mechanically very reliable thanks to a proven technology even if now outdated . Perhaps most importantly, in the event of a conflict, everyone can be used exclusively as peripheral logistical support.

From the smallest Cargo truck with 139 two-axle horses, the truck range goes to the 3 axles with 180 horses up to the 500 series, again with 3 axles but 270 horses. The largest in the category, the KM 1500 Series (photos) have four axles including two steering and 450 horses. The whole range has four-wheel drive, but I'm not sure it's broken down as in the case of ACTL SM.

The displacements are not known but it is not difficult to think, observing the consumption and the distance below the 500 kilometers, which are quite high and then start from the 3 thousand cc for the smallest range, up to 15 thousand cc for the largest, but this is only an assumption of course.

On engines marked with CRDI, Common Rail Diesel Injection could, but this is just an idea, being behind a pro-German technology, as we do, the abbreviations HDI can be associated with the PSA group of which Fiat Auto is part.

(photo / video: KIA MOTORS CORP.)