Red Rhino inspired by the Batmobile
Car featured in movie Batman Begins sparked design of the SCDF's Red Rhino light firefighting vehicle
It has been shown off at numerous National Day Parades, whether as part of dynamic defence displays, mobile columns, or even as a key-chain in last year's fun pack.
And for these two Singaporeans, spotting a Red Rhino, the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF's) light firefighting vehicle, is a matter of pride.
Especially when they see it zipping through our streets like the Tumbler, the Batmobile featured in the 2005 movie, Batman Begins.
It was that vehicle which inspired them to design Red Rhinos.
Mr Vic Naidu, 34, and Mr Stanley Png, 37, both work at local engineering firm, Hope Technik, and have been helping to design and build the vehicles since 2009.
Next year, the company will be celebrating its 10th anniversary working on the Red Rhino.
Mr Naidu, who heads Trigen Automotive, a division of Hope Technik that focuses on special function vehicles like the Red Rhino, told The New Paper his team would snap and share pictures whenever they saw one being deployed.
He said: "You know that in their hearts they are saying, 'I built that'."
Since it was launched in 2000, the Red Rhino has become an iconic part of the SCDF's firefighting arsenal.
More compact than a conventional fire engine, it was conceptualised by the SCDF to meet the challenges of Singapore's urban environment.
The agile Light Fire Attack Vehicle is able to access narrow streets, negotiate tight corners and spaces, and go off-road. It can also move around the scene of a fire.
In 2009, Hope Technik was commissioned to improve the existing Red Rhinos.
Mr Naidu said the company wanted to create something that was cool and meshed form with function, so internally, the vehicles were dubbed the Tumbler Element.
With a team full of car fanatics working on the vehicles, some of the design cues were taken from super-cars, he said.
Looking back at how the first Tumbler Element came about was bittersweet for Mr Png and Mr Naidu.
PAINFUL
Mr Naidu said: "It makes you look back at how painful the journey can be in terms of experiencing mistakes, then trying to keep your stride to make (the vehicle) better."
With many tight deadlines, the team pulled late nights and after much trial and error, eventually churned out their very first prototype in about six months.
Mr Naidu said: "We knew our client needed it soon to replace their ageing fleet so we were driven to make something happen.
"It was (such a part of) our everyday life that when you head home, you are always thinking what's next, what's the next component that you need to design and install."
Hope Technik has now produced more than 60 Red Rhinos for the SCDF and the company has also exported their own emergency vehicles.
A closed cabin version of their Tumbler vehicle was used in the Macau Grand Prix last year and they will be found in the Philippines soon.
Mr Png said: "The Tumbler is one of my babies. There are many good memories and career successes in these vehicles."
Mr Naidu added: "It is good to see regional clients appreciating what we have been doing for our country and taking it to their countries.
"We are helping to build up a Singapore brand."
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