Ox, the truck that can be packed flat like Ikea furniture, is headed to pre-production

The Ox, a flat-platform, flat-sided vehicle, designed to bring mobility to the developing world, came one step closer to reality. The oil giant Shell recently announced that it would commission an Ox pre-production prototype that it will then bring to India to help outreach programs.

The Ox first appeared in 2016. It was the brainchild of Torquil Norman, a philanthropist who heads the Global Vehicle Trust, and Gordon Murray, the South African engineer who helped create the McLaren F1.

The truck is absurdly simple to assemble: its designers claim that three people can divide it into 60 parts in just 12 hours. This allows the Ox to be sent at low cost to developing nations, where aid workers can use it to transport water, grains, fertilizers and construction materials. The square truck can hold 13 people and transport up to 4,100 pounds of cargo. Its engine is the diesel of a Ford Transit.

And thanks to Shell, the Ox can finally see the light of day. "The ox is one of our most important engineering designs and it is certainly the vehicle that I am most proud of," Murray said in a statement, "since its disruptive design has the potential to change the current mobility model and the vision of Shell ". this vehicle could continue to improve the lives of many people. "

Image: Shell