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Ísar is Iceland’s First Aluminum-Intensive Vehicle

Isar - all-aluminum vehicle© by Isar

Jakar ehf, located in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, introduced Ísar — the country’s first aluminum-intensive vehicle. Mostly comprised of Icelandic-produced aluminum, the vehicle is a super jeep made for rugged terrain. It is 8.2 ft wide and 18.7 ft long and can seat up to 20 people. Weighing in at just under 3 tonnes, the vehicle is lightweight while also sturdy for its size. The Ísar is the first super jeep to be registered for driving on public streets in Iceland.

The vehicle’s image is the work of automotive designer, Bjarni Hjartarson, graduate from Instituto Eropeo di Design in Torino, Italy. Built from 5054 aluminum alloy, the Ísar body structure and massive aluminium skid pan is light, strong, and corrosion resistant. In addition, the vehicle incorporates galvanized and/or epoxy coated steel for suspension parts and subframes. Due to the clean-sheet approach, the material selection, and the design concept, the Ísar is lighter than any current full-house modified 4×4 of similar capacity by 1-2 tons.

The Ísar is designed around the comfort of people no matter what the weather and road conditions. There are many rural areas in Iceland where it could take a day over rocky environments to drive to get to the nearest food or hospital due to a lack of infrastructure is available for traveling between small communities. According to the company website, “Ísar vehicles ply the route, at same speeds and with [the] same comfort as if the roads were smooth. The journey time is cut in half, with a fraction of the investment for road infrastructure for road vehicles.”

The Jakar team has a goal of changing the modes of transportation for global areas of low to no infrastructure. The Ísar car is ergonomically designed to safely transport people, while also having a minimal impact on nature. The prototype uses biogas from local household waste. According to the company, “Ísar impacts natural surfaces minimally through the huge low ground pressure tires, and is in general designed, from the outset, to impact our besieged environment as little as possible whilst remaining reliable and economical.”

The lightweight vehicle is currently a running prototype and has gone on private trips with investors. Five of the vehicles have been sold and the super jeep is attracting interest from numerous parties. “We’ve had a lot of inquiries from abroad about when the final product will be ready, hopefully as soon as possible,” said Guðmundur Höskuldsson, operating manager of Jakar.

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