The fast take-off, high speed, quick braking and precise reverse parking by the warthog has been attracting the attention of the wildlife videographers over many years who have produced footage and evidence of a scintillating story.
It has created social media "breaking news that has been likened to the performance of a motor vehicle".
This rare story has a huge viewership on Tik-Tok and YouTube with many million viewers and likes.
It is a fact that when learning comes with fun the grasping by humans becomes much easier because the brain processing and storing of information is more effective.
It is from this thought that this week we take a lighter moment approach and take a closer look at the type of engine powering the warthog in an educational drive around.
The commentators have likened the warthog to a V12 or V16 or V75 or V100 engine in the many videos that I understand some among you also watched.
But what does the V stand for? It stands for the V-engines which are lighter and more compact than other engines because they can fit more cylinders in less space.
In a V-engine, the cylinders are arranged in two rows that face outward, forming a V-shape.
- What engine powers the warthog?
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These engines usually are at a 90-degree angle and are typically manufactured with 6 or 8 or 10 or 12 cylinders which forms the basis of the V6 or V12 configurations.
The more the valves in an engine the more the power the engine has. Some of the V-6 engines starts from 2500cc to 4000cc and some examples includes the Mercedes Benz S320, Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, Toyota Prado 2700cc to mention a few.
Then some of the V-8 engines starts from 3500cc to 6400cc engines and includes among others the BMW 7 series, Toyota Land Cruiser 79 series, Ferrari F8, Ford Mustang, Jaguar F-Type, Bentley Fling Spur and Cadillac Escalade.
So you can imagine what impression the warthog has created in the minds of the wildlife videographers.
Watching the videos, however, l cannot argue with these professionals who sometimes take three months to get the best shorts filming the lions and leopards losing ground against the warthog that they now call the “King of the Jungle”.
While high speed is the common ability of these cars because of the number of valves, but the amazing part is the extra power the warthog has that it appears like similar to the bi-turbo power in the diesel engines.
When it comes to long distance travellers the diesel engine is the best compared to the petrol because the engine has higher energy density than petrol fuel, which makes them travel further on the same amount of fuel.
It really seems like when the warthog decides to push the pedal deeper and kick in the turbo the lions and the leopards immediately gives up.
But the high speed that the warthog likes to travel at and never gets into a crush when applying emergency brakes, particularly when it is approaching its underground house, makes it clear that it has the anti-lock braking system (ABS).
The ABS is a safety feature that prevents wheels from locking up while braking to avoid skidding.
It consists of computer sensors and solenoid valves which monitor wheel speed. So next time you are buying a car please make sure to ask and verify if the car has the ABS braking system for your safety.
The warthog is indeed trending on all the social media platforms and honestly if you haven’t seen its performance l can only suspect that your totem could be Mhofu the Eland all clouded by jealousy.
But let us be fair here! One of the outstanding performance of the “New King of the Jungle” is its take-off.
In many of the videos the lions and leopards comes close to it and it stubbornly waits for them to smell the taste of the bacon, but because of this feature the fearless warthog disappears in a flush to perhaps one kilometre away within few seconds.
Some of the production cars that matches this tantalising feature that comes to mind includes the Hennessey Venom GT which can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds.
It has a twin-turbocharged 7.0-litre V8 engine with 927kW and 1600Nm. The Porsche 911 Turbo S can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds powered by a 3.8 litre twin-turbocharged flat-six engine with 478 kW and 800 Nm, the Lamborghini that goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds with a 5.2-litre V-10 engine that generates 640 horsepower and the Formula 1 racing car that goes from 0 to 100 in 2.6 seconds. It can also cover 0 to 200km/hr in under 2 seconds.
But surprisingly the electric and hybrid cars are among the list under less than 2 seconds featuring the 2021 Rimac Nevera electric car 1.74 seconds, 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid electric 1.98 seconds and the Ferrari FS90 Stardale hybrid in 2.0 seconds.
When l realised this scenario of the hybrids and electric cars overpowering the normal combustion engines above l am now equally confused like the lions and the leopards about the warthog believing that it could actually be an electric powered engine.
The warthog is the only animal with an underground house which l somehow now suspect could be the reason why it invests in time and energy to create it through mouth digging.
The EVs as they are called requires at least one hour of charging and the warthog perhaps has a charging point in this house.
Recently I gathered that there will soon be two charging points for the EVs in Harare which takes 1 hour to charge one car.
In the wild goose chase with the enemies l have seen the warthog diving into the mud or straight into the river without any fear.
It crosses the river much to the amusement of the wild dogs and lions in a show of all wheel drive feature. If your car can pull from all the wheels you can navigate any road terrain may it the mountainous roads of Manicaland or crossing the Nyajezi river in Nyanga.
The Toyota Land cruiser V8 4500cc diesel engine is one among the vehicles that comes to mind when it comes to overcoming any terrain as the King of the Jungle is demonstrating.
These days it is not just the high clearance vehicles that comes with the 4WD functionality. Other private cars such as BMW X1, Volvo EX40, Toyota Yaris Cross, Range Rover Evoque and Suzuki Ignis also comes with 4WD.
Off course, the downside of the 4WD cars is a little higher fuel consumption because of weight, friction and demands on the engine, but it is worth it when you look at the convenience it creates like in the case of the warthog running away from the hungry and angry lions.
Furthermore, the warthog’s antics that mesmerise everyone as it manages to escape from a group of lions or the wild dogs includes some of these car features; Rear traffic alert, blind spot detector, lane departure warning system and the lane keep assist.
The rear traffic alert has helped to see the aggressively approaching lions which triggers it to push the pedal and kick in the turbo charger and increase the speed.
The lane departure warning system helps it to understanding that it is now driving off its lane and hence it has to check properly if there are no lions in that direction.
On the other hand, the blind spot monitoring sensor has helped it to detect some enemies coming from the rear or any sides.
One thing that also stands out in all the videos is how the “New King of the Jungle” uses its brains to think of its strategy to out maneuver the wild dogs that comes in big numbers against one warthog.
This is indeed one modern driving technique that helps in avoiding accidents. I am really challenged in the real life situations when l reflects to some of the driving that l encounter on the roads from other drivers that leaves a lot to be desired.
Let me say congratulations to Humba for teaching them a lesson, not just your fellow animals, but including the followers to this column too!
*Stanley Makombe has 24 years’ experience in this industry, provides online car sales training and business Coaching to entrepreneurs struggling to run profitably. He is writing in his own capacity and can be contacted on +254 743 900 590, on X @Stan_Carsales, email: stanley@stanleymakombe.com, www.stanleymakombe.com
