(Reuters) — Nissan has launched a new measurement unit for 4×4 cars that they are calling Desert Camel Power.
The Japanese firm wants to provide definitive answers to questions about the off-road capabilities of 4×4 cars in the Gulf market.
Nissan argues that the traditional definition of horsepower is not an accurate unit of measurement for cars that drive in the desert, since engine power does not necessarily ensure smooth driving on sand.
Regional Executive Manager of Nissan Samir Cherfan told Reuters that horsepower and Camel Power were very different measurements.
He said: “You can’t compare. You can have a 1000 horsepower car that can’t drive in the desert. We can’t compare. If you look at the camel and notice its legs, nose, eyes, and its fat reserve you can see that in cars [4×4], they have a lot in common with camels that make it powerful in the desert. So you really can’t compare them [horsepower and camel power],” he said.
Nissan engineers worked with scientists to create a working formula that would portray an accurate measurement for cars that drive in the desert.
The formula calculates the camel power unit by multiplying car velocity by its weight and road trajectory.
While one horsepower unit equals 745.7 watts, one camel power unit is slightly higher at 765 watts.
The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) sponsored the innovative idea and is collaborating with Nissan in order to make it an official measurement in the Gulf and eventually globally.
Manager of the Units Department at ESMA, Khalaf Abdelqader, told Reuters: “Today we are talking about the idea of Camel Power, which is being introduced to be a new unit of measurement for 4×4 cars in a desert environment so we can see its real effectiveness. We know that horsepower is a measurement unit for a car’s ability in a normal environment, not in the desert. So the idea of Camel Power is that it can give us a more accurate measurement of a car’s capability in the desert. The idea came from Nissan and we at ESMA have adopted it and supported it as an innovative idea and we will be starting a new stage of field testing in order to be able to calculate all the variables in order to move on and hopefully make it a global unit of measurement.”
The process of making it official in the Gulf could take a matter of months, according to Abdelqader.
Nissan is planning on using the Camel Power as the main measurement unit for all its SUVs in the Middle East once it is made official.
Nissan and ESMA are writing up a 500-page proposal explaining the idea behind the new innovation and why it is a more accurate measurement unit for SUVs (sports utility vehicle).
