FSMW Gold Kettenrad V1: a gold hauler with a chopper nose

Every pile of gold bars needs something to carry it away. We found it in an unlikely place: a rebuilt Kettenkrad with a tipping bed at the back and a chopper front end. Meet the FSMW Gold Kettenrad V1, for now as a concept.

What it is

We shortened the rear at the seat and kept the engine box. All told the Kettenrad is about 3.6 metres long, and it looks like someone bolted a chopper front wheel onto a small dump truck. That is exactly the idea.

The paint is gloss black, close to the black of a JCB, with chrome on the tracks, road wheels, hoops, perforated sheet, handlebars and tow hitch. Yes, the tow hitch shines too. If you haul gold, you are allowed to.

Where it comes from

The original is the NSU Kettenkrad, built by NSU in Neckarsulm and used in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945: a motorcycle front wheel, tracks at the back and a 1.5 litre Opel Olympia four-cylinder with 36 hp. Roughly 8,000 were built during the war. The part we like best came afterwards: NSU built around 500 more as small tractors for farms and forestry. So the Kettenkrad has swapped the battlefield for the field once already. We're taking the next step, away from army paint, towards gloss black, chrome and a bed full of gold bars.

Chopper in front, tipper at the back

Up front sit a chopper springer fork with a spoked wheel and two vintage headlights. The chopper saddle rests on three chrome springs, and the cockpit holds two recessed round gauges, a speedometer and a rev counter.

At the back the bed tips on a hydraulic ram. The tailgate opens while it tips, and the FSMW logo sits on it. A chrome frame with perforated sheet closes the bed at the front, and a chrome railing runs along the top.

Built for the gold bars

The bed is made for the FSMW gold bar pallet, the one you know from the FSMW Gold Trader and that the Insane Swim Dredge turns out as well. The pallet (1.20 by 0.80 metres) fits across the bed. The target payload is one tonne, which is two pallets. It is a target: we have not tested it in the game yet.

Where we are

Honest status: everything you see here is a Blender render, not game footage. The physics and play test and the export into the game are still ahead. Planned but not finished are dealer colours and, later, an engine hatch and an interchangeable body. There is no date, and we won't invent one. You can find the Kettenrad on the roadmap under "In progress".

All renders are on the Gold Kettenrad V1 page, and the Kettenrad has its own section in the forum. Tell us what it should be able to do while it is still easy to build in.

Credits: the model builds on three works from Sketchfab under CC BY 4.0, modified by us: "Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkrad" by Xanoneq, "Motorcycle Chopper / bobber" by UnforgettableName and "Vintage Spotlight" by shaqsh.