Storm III
A Storm Mark III was set to be produced for the Israeli defense forces starting in June 2008, when the IDF will purchase around 600 vehicles beginning in early 2011. Based on the new four-door Jeep Wrangler JK design, the Mark III is meant to address some of the shortfalls of the current Mark II. Whereas the previous vehicle was an update of the original Storm, the Storm III was designed from the outset for a five-door configuration. Unlike the JK, the new Storm has a much higher maximum load in part due to heavier-duty shock absorbers, necessary for an armored version. It includes a standard 2.8L VM Motori turbodiesel and automatic transmission.
Like the Storm II, the Mark III was initially available only to the military with versions set to be delivered to the Israel Police in 2009. A civilian version will only be released if the local tax code is modified to allow it to compete with foreign imports of the same class. AIL states that if such thing will happen, a petrol engine version could be offered. Regarding Export markets, the Storm 3 has already seen use in several countries, especially in its armored version.
A pair of production J8's was tested by Israeli web magazine Jeepolog.com journalists in April 2009. It was dubbed "probably, the best Jeep ever".
Read more about this topic: AIL Storm
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