One wonders why after 40 years following the first moon landing by Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, it’s a small natural gas company from Rodermark, Germany that took center stage this summer in recognizing the accomplishment in the automotive industry.
“Drive me to the moon” is the motto Fahrmitgas.de came up with for its special model Moonlander — used to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing mission.
Fahrmitgas, the official supplier of LPG systems for Chevrolet since 2004, from time to time creates individual concept vehicles for special models or occasions. The company commemorated the NASA achievement by taking a Chevrolet Captiva and equipping it with a dual-mode engine that operates either on gasoline or LPG.
Fahrmitgas.de prepared two versions of the Captiva-based Moonlander, a 2.4L four-cylinder engine with 136 hp with front wheel drive, and the 3.2L V6 with 230 hp and a maximum torque of 219 ft.-lb.
The 3.2 V6 has been paired with a five-speed automatic gearbox and permanent four-wheel drive. The Moonlander 3.2L V6 goes from 0 to 62 mph in 8.8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 126 mph, all this with a 12% lowered CO2 emission level while running on LPG.
The exterior design is based on the Apollo 11 rocket and the Lunar Rover vehicle, painted in universe white and orbiter black. The SUV has “Manned Mission Lunar Vehicle” decals on its side and the names of the Apollo 11 crew members on the silvery rear side windows.
Fahrmitgas prepared the SUV with a sport suspension that lowers the ride height by 35 mm, white-painted 20” wheels and high-performance tires.
Only 40 Moonlander SUVs were made, one for each year since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon, back in 1969. The Moonlander starts at about $30,000 and comes as standard with automatic climate control, stereo system, iPod and a space suit replica complete with helmet.
For more on the Moonlander, visit www.fahrmitgas.de/en/topmenu/home.htm