The 2023 Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2
(modern day TIV 2)
(An older version of the TIV 2, but still the same car and mechanisms. Live Storm Chasers (the current owner of the vehicle) just changed the color and fixed it up.)
(this is a very important video that shows the deployment process of the TIV 2)
IMPORTANT INFO
The reason I specified 2023 is because the car has gone through many stages from 2007-2023 both in the deployment system and the car. There has been the same topic, but it barely went into detail over the whole car and I just wanted to clarify/add some things. The car they showed there was the same car, but it was different stages in its making, the 3rd image on the other post was the 2008 version which used metal plates on hinges rather than sliding armor plates and spikes. The Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 (or just TIV 2) is a 14,000 pound (7 ton) vehicle that can surprisingly still move at speeds of up to 100mph. The car was definitely built to drive into tornadoes. The maximum threshold can withstand windspeeds of up to 300 mph. Built off of a Dodge Ram 3500, this massive 6x6 vehicle is one of the most Mad Max looking vehicles you can find. The hump on the top of the vehicle has an IMAX camera in there to get beautiful shots inside of tornadoes and of storms. It can swivel around and has an opening/closing door. The big “T” shaped thing on the back has weather instruments like an anemometer and pressure sensor built onto it, but it does not seem to be on the modern TIV 2.
EXTRA INFO
First created in 2007-2008 by Sean Casey and his team for the show Storm Chasers on Discovery+ and to help gather valuable information and shots from inside a tornado, he and his team had originally used TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) until the car began to break and fail. The car made its first intercept in a large EF3 and the car handled it decently well. As the years went on, they began to continue work on the TIV until we reach the modern day one. Their storm chasing team comprised of a Doppler on Wheels (DOW), 2 Doghouses (Scout/mesonet/probe trucks), and of course, the TIV 2. This car was and still is used vigorously since its creation and has been chasing storms up to EF5. Another storm chaser, Reed Timmer, also had a tornado chasing vehicle called the Dominator 1, 2, and 3 where he uses spikes and air cushions to drop the car to the ground and stop the tornado from tearing it out. These 2 cars can handle up to 300 mph windspeeds and they are some of the most interesting vehicles.
Fun Facts
- The car used to have a speaker to alert nearby people of a tornado if sirens were not in place or sounding
- The car was bought by a team member working with the TIV when Sean Casey sold the vehicle.
- The car kept breaking in the first season it appeared from the axle to the transmission.
- When this car was first made, the large plate on the back used to fall down, and stayed on the car for a while, but was eventually replaced by 2 spikes in the back.
Conclusion
This car is probably one of my favorite cars and I feel like it would be an absolutely amazing vehicle in the game. It would probably have some pretty good defense, but not much attack due to its lower speed. The car would definitely fit into a weather update if you ever add one, and I feel like people would get some amazing shots/recreations with it.
Anyways, thanks for reading (or skimming) all of this and I hope you feel the same about this car as I do. I hope you have a great day and you can help me get this car into the game! (By the way, feel free to ask anything about this vehicle because I can probably answer it.)