A tank turn is one of the coolest and most adventurous manoeuvres you can perform with a car. It is allowing the vehicle to rotate around its own vertical axis, turning on the spot. Like tracked vehicles and military tanks, where left and right tracks rotate in opposite directions. Applied to wheeled vehicles, this requires fully independent torque control at each wheel.
A tank turn explained
In conventional cars, a true tank turn is mechanically impossible. Steering geometry, shared drivelines and traction limits prevent opposing wheel rotation with the required precision and power. Only vehicles with individual motors per wheel – and refined control software – can perform this.
This is where the Defender Panterra comes in. The electric Defender Panterra’s in-wheel motors with four in-wheel motors, torque vectoring and integrated regenerative braking deliver a combined 600 horsepower and 6,400 Nm (4,720 ft-lb) of peak torque. Power is supported by a 200 kWh battery, giving the Panterra drivetrain and a real-world range of up to 600 km (375 miles).
The Panther Turn
These fundamentals formed the basis for the Panther Turn — our first-ever Defender tank turn. Executed under controlled conditions with a little bit of help from the weather gods, it demonstrated what becomes possible when drivetrain architecture, software and engineering intent are developed as one and a team works together on an adventures road making this possible.
The Panther Turn is not about spectacle. It is a declaration that electric off-roading going to be the next level. And also note: a Panther Turn or any tank turn is strictly forbidden on public roads and is shown solely as a technical demonstration of The Landrovers Panterra’s engineering capabilities.
Learn more about our full electric Defender and check out our latest bespoke builds on our Defenders page.
