This All-Terrain School Bus Laughs In The Face Of Snow Days

Bonkers off-road leviathan-maker Torsus has unveiled yet another variant of its mighty Praetorian platform, and this one is really serious about getting your kids to first period on time.

The school bus derivative of the MAN-based mud-plugger can carry up to 35 suitably braced children to their lessons via some of the world’s toughest unsurfaced routes. Each seat has a seatbelt, thankfully, with an optional foldable armrest and hip-support bar on the aisle-end of each bench.

We recommend ticking that option box if the school run is especially rough, or else your little treasures will be dumped into the walkway and tossed around like a Greek salad. The centre of gravity is still reasonably low, despite appearances, so the Praetorian school bus can handle cambers of 33.5 degrees.

MAN’s turbocharged 6.9-litre six-cylinder diesel packs a modest-sounding 286bhp, but its 848lb ft will haul the truck along in the same sort of way no matter whether it’s fully loaded or stripped out. Torsus says it can pull itself up a 65 per cent incline.

Options include a fridge, a microwave, a coffee machine, a TV and DVD player and an uprated climate control system for if your school is the other side of your local desert. You can even add a washing machine for clothes and a toilet cubicle.

The basic price for the bus is around £150,000, with the most luxurious camper-van option weighing in at £211,500. At the top of the tree is an Expedition model with a price set at about £332,000. Time to start talking to your kids’ school about budgets for next term.