Motorsport UK buys Pinzgauer for Ukraine

Motorsport UK has donated a Pinzgauer 6×6 vehicle to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after over two years of fundraising. It is expected to arrive in Lviv this weekend before being sent to Kyiv the week after. From there, it will be transferred to the 46th Airmobile Brigade for use as an armoured ambulance.

The project launched in May 2022, less than two months after the full-scale Russian invasion began. A GoFundMe was started with the goal of raising £60,000 to donate to the Ukrainian Embassy, who then used the money to purchase the Pinzgauer. David Richards CBE, the chairman of Motorsport UK and Prodrive, provided the opening and largest salvo of £25,000.

The British Motorsport Trust pitched in £5,000, the second largest donation ahead of the £3,000 from the village of Duns Tew. Contributions from Northern Ireland were spearheaded by the Association of Northern Ireland Car Clubs’ £2,000 alongside the Ballynahinch & District Motor Club and Ulster Rally (£1,000 apiece), Ulster Automobile Club (£500), and Dungannon Motor Club (£250). From Scotland, the Scottish Association of Motor Sports Club and RSAC Motorsport each donated £250. Other donors included the Association of Motorsport Recovery Operators and Shenington Kart Racing Club, both doing £250 as well.

Bicester Heritage, a former military airfield, hosted events like the Bicester Scramble and Flywheel to raise awareness for the cause. In June 2023, a booth was set up at Flywheel with the Pinzgauer on display; Victoria Prentis, then the MP for Banbury who has helped Ukrainian refugees in Britain, visited the booth and remarked the vehicle “looks more like a tank than an ambulance, but it has to considering where it’s going.”

Although Austrian rooted as part of the Steyr-Puch line, the Pinzgauer was produced in the United Kingdom by BAE Systems and its subsidiaries from 2000 to 2007, the last iteration being the Pinzgauer Vector PPV (Protected Patrol Vehicle). While new models are no longer made, the Goole-based Venari Group is currently responsible for building emergency vehicles as well as restoring and converting former British Army stock for such purposes. Other military vehicles in the company’s portfolio include an armoured Land Rover, Mercedes Vario, and a Unimog. Venari previously worked with the Embassy of Ukraine for Belgium and Luxembourg to supply fourteen Pinzgauers to Ukraine in March 2023.

First developed in 1971, the Pinzgauer is a multi-role vehicle that can also be used as a tow truck and troop carrier. It is covered with modular armour that protects it from enemy fire, which would prove vital when evacuating wounded troops from the frontline. It has even been used in motorsport, competing at the Paris–Dakar Rally during the race’s early years in the 1980s and being eligible for the Dakar Classic.

The Venari Pinzgauer features STANAG 3 ballistic protection, which shields it from direct small arms fire like bullets from machine guns and sniper rifles. This combined with the floor also protects the occupants from explosions and rollovers. On the inside, the base model comes with necessities like a stretcher and trauma lights, along with fire extinguishers and electrical equipment.

Kostyantyn Bevz, a lead official in the Automobile Federation of Ukraine and FIA steward, wrote to The Checkered Flag after confirming its delivery, “I was waiting for it 2 years…”

Britain’s preeminent auto racing federation has been vocal about supporting Ukraine since the start of the invasion. Just a week after it began, Motorsport UK announced drivers with Russian and Belarusian licences would not be allowed to compete in the country, keeping in line with the FIA’s policy. Federation member and rallycross driver Fynn Watt has made multiple trips to Ukraine to donate ambulances and off-road vehicles, including helping out at Bicester Flywheel.