Is this the shoot vehicle of the future?

Shooting vehicles have, like much in life, undergone some fairly serious evolution over the last hundred years or so. The original shoot vehicle was a horse-drawn wagon called a shooting-brake, used to transport teams of guns and their hangers-on, plus their guns, ammunition and shot game around grand estates. They were generally large enough to transport a full team of guns.

With the advent of the internal combustion engine, shooting brakes became motorised, with the first such machines appearing in the early 1900s. One early model was created by the Scottish firm Albion Motors, and this was followed in the subsequent years by models from the likes of Rolls Royce.

 

The shooting brake gave way to the ‘estate car’. These were designed to perform similar functions to shooting brakes, namely, transport shooting parties, their clobber and the bag around estates, but had the added bonus of being usable on roads.

 

At some stage the 4x4 in all its various guises, probably beginning with some form of Land Rover, became the vehicle of choice for the shooting community, though estate cars, with their roomy boots so good for dogs, are still popular. These days our family shoot resembles a badly-made advert for a second-hand car dealership, with a motley collection of vehicles at all points of the spectrum from the rather-too-shiny Range Rover Sport to the battered old farm pick-up. One friend did once turned up in a white Audi TT, but he got such a ribbing he didn’t make that mistake again. Which end of the scale do you fall into, and do you fit the stereotype?

 

 

At the more rarified end of the shooting spectrum one hears of fleets of white Range Rovers being used to ferry guns from peg to peg, and of course, every luxury car manufacturer has to have an SUV in its range. In the past, we've reviewed off-roaders from Lambourghini, Bentley and Mitsubishi.

Now however, there’s a new beast on the block. This week, the US-based entrepreneur, would-be spaceman and flame-thrower peddler Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla launched a fully electric four-wheel drive vehicle, the hilariously named ‘Cybertruck’.

 

 

Looking like something from an early ‘90s video game, the Cybertruck is reportedly made from ‘ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel’ to help prevent those dings and dents that are inevitable when bumping around an estate. Claims that the vehicle is bullet-proof don't quite seem to have held up, so don't let anyone take a shot at it.

 

Like a pickup truck, Musk’s new machine has a flat-bed at the rear which can apparently carry 3,500 lb (more than 1.5 tonnes). It also features a ramp, up which you can drive your ‘Cyberquad’, should you feel the need. So there's plenty of space for birds, dogs or your gun box.

 

 

The interior cab has seating for six. The top-of-the-range version is all-wheel drive and powered by three electric motors to ensure that it can go anywhere. Tesla claim it can do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and tow 6.3 tons.

 

For the real outdoorsman or woman, there even appears to be a camping mod, complete with salad bar?

 

 

So like the shooting brakes of old, the Cybertruck can transport plenty of people, has lots of carrying capacity and all the grunt needed to get around a shooting estate. So how long before we see one on the shooting field, and just how many eggs (or steel balls) will be thrown at it?